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A  THESIS  SUBMITTET>  TO  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF 

PENNSYLVANIA  IN  PARTIAL  FULFILLMENT 

OF  "THE  "^REQUIREMENTS  FOR  THE 

"DEGREE  OF  "PHD, 


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Contents 


I-  Slavery  in  the  Colony  of  Pennsylvania. 5 

II.  Abolition  of  Slavery 13 

III.'  The  Free  People  of  Color 26 

IV.  Negro  Population  Since  the  Civil  War 52 

V.  Occupation  of  Negroes 70 

VI.  Business  Enterprises 82 

VII .  Ownership  of  Property 1 03 

VIII.  The  Church  and  Secret  Societies 110 

IX.  Education. 123 

X.  The  Negro  and  Crime. 140 

XI.  Poverty  Among  Negroes 159 

XII.  Inter-Racial  Contact  and  Social  Progress. 166 

XIII.  Conclusions 182 

XIV.  Appendix 203. 


251881 


The  Negro  In  Pennsylvania 


SLAVERY  IN  THE  COLONY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA 


When  the  Colony  of  Pennsylvania  was  founded  by 
William  Penn,  Negro  slavery  was  a  recognized  institution 
in  the  New  World.  The  Dutch  and  Swedes,  who  settled 
along  the  Delaware,  had  slaves.  But  whence  these  slaves 
came  and  how  many  they  w^ere,  or  what  was  their  exact  lo- 
cation, is  not  positively  known.  It  is  known,  however,  that 
as  early  as  1639,  ^^  offender,  named  Coinclesse,  was  sen- 
tenced by  the  authorities  of  Manhattan  for  wounding  a  sol- 
dier at  Fort  Amsterdam,  to  "serve  along  with  blacks,  to  be 
sent  by  the  first  ship  to  South  River"  (The  Delaware). 
And  in  1677,  o"^  James  Sunderlands,  is  said  to  have  been  a 
slaveholder  in  the  Delaware  neighborhood. 

When  William  Penn  secured  his  charter  and  framed 
the  laws  for  the  government  of  his  colony,  he  intended  to 
give  the  greatest  personal  freedom  to  all  who  came  to  the 
new  land.  To  The  Free  Society  of  Traders,  who  purchased 
some  20,000  acres  of  ground,  Penn  granted  extensive  privi- 
leges, and  jurisdiction  over  their  own  land.  In  their  articles 
of  settlement  is  the  following:  "It  (The  Free  Society  of 
Traders)  is  a  very  unusual  society;  for  it  is  an  absolutely 
free  one  and  in  a  free  country ;  a  society  without  oppression, 
wherein  all  may  be  concerned  that  will  and  yet  have  the 
same  liberty  of  private  traffic  as  though  there  were  no  so- 
ciety at  all."  In  this  quite  liberal  description  Negroes  were, 
however,  not  included;  for  in  the  following  paragraph,  the 
society  declared  as  a  further  inducement  for  colonists  to 
come   to   the    Pennsylvania   country,    "Black    servants   to   be 

5 


The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 


free  at  fourteen  years,  on  giving  the  society  two-thirds  of 
what  they  can  produce  on  land  allotted  to  them  by  the  so- 
ciety, with  stocks  and  tools ;  if  they  agree  not  to  do  this,  to 
be  servants  until  they  do."  Thus,  at  the  very  beginning, 
the  founders  of  Pennsylvania  sanctioned  Negro  servitude, 
stating  in  very  clear  language  the  handicap  under  which 
Negroes  must  live  and  labor. 

The  Penn  Colony  arrived  in  the  country  in  1682. 
Though  there  is  no  record  of  any  of  them  owning  slaves  at 
this  time,  it  is  probable  that  slaves  were  early  procured  by 
many.  James  Claypoole,  of  England,  on  deciding  to  come 
to  Pennsylvania  in  1682,  wrote  as  follows  :  *T  have  a  great 
drawing  on  my  mind  to  remove  with  my  family  thither,  so 
that  I  am  given  up,  if  the  Lord  clears  the  way,  to  be  gone 
by  next  spring.  Advise  me  in  thy  next,  what  I  might  have 
two  Negroes  for  that  they  might  be  fit  for  cutting  down 
trees,  building,  plowing  or  any  sort  of  labor  that  is  requir- 
ed in  the  first  planting  of  a  country."  In  1684,  just  two 
years  after  the  founding  of  the  colony,  one  Cornelius  Bonn, 
is  said  to  have  had  a  Negro  whom  he  ''bought."  In  the 
same  year,  among  the  goods  of  William  Pomfret,  of  Bucks 
County,  which  were  levied  on  by  Gilbert  Wheeler  was 
"one  man"  supposed  to  be  a  Negro  slave.  There  is 
also  evidence  which  seems  to  show  that  William  Penn  him- 
self approved  of  slavery,  that  he  used  slaves,  and  probably 
owned  some.  In  his  cash  book,  one  "Dorcas,"  a  colored 
woman,  is  mentioned  by  him.  In  a  letter  to  James  Harri- 
son, his  steward,  under  date  of  August  25,  1685,  he  wrote 
from  England:  "I  have  sent  a  gardener  by  this  ship,  or 
he  soon  follows,  with  all  requisites ;  a  man  of  recommended 
great  skill.  Let  him  have  what  help  he  can,  not  less  than 
two  or  three  at  any  time ;  he  will  cast  things  into  a  proper 
posture.  He  has  his  passage  paid,  thirty  pounds  at  three 
years,  sixty  acres  of  land  and  a  month  in  the  year  to  him- 


A  Study  In  Economic  History 


self,  not  hindering  my  business,  and  he  is  to  train  two  men 
and  a  boy  in  the  art.  It  were  better  that  they  were  blacks 
for  then,  a  man  has  them  while  they  live."  Two  months 
later,  October  4th,  1685,  he  wrote  again:  "The  blacks  of 
Captain  Allen,  I  have  as  good  as  bought ;  so  part  not  with 
them  without  my  order."  There  are  other  evidences  that 
he  had  slaves,  but  none  that  he  ever  possessed  a  large  num- 
ber of  them  at  any  one  time. 

It  seems  therefore  that  after  the  settlers  of  Pennsyl- 
vania began  the  actual  work  of  settlement,  they  fell  some- 
what from  the  high  ideals  of  human  liberty  as  set  forth  by 
the  Free  Society  of  Traders,  while  they  were  still  in  Lon- 
don. Negroes  were  found  to  be  useful  in  "cutting  down 
trees,  building,  plowing,  and  any  sort  of  labor  that  is  requir- 
ed in  the  first  planting  of  a  country."  Economic  necessity 
thus  forced  upon  the  liberty-loving  Pennsylvania  commun- 
ity, human  servitude,  as  it  had  also  upon  other  colonies. 
And  about  1700,  slavery  became  a  recognized  institution  in 
the  Quaker  Colony. 

The  Pennsylvania  colonists  procured  their  slaves 
chiefly  from  the  West  Indies  and  from  the  surrounding  col- 
onies on  the  mainland  of  America.  Very  few,  however, 
came  direct  from  Africa.  Slaves  were  sold  for  from  forty 
to  a  hundred  pounds  sterling.  In  1700  slaves  were  numer- 
ous enough  to  call  for  special  attention  from  the  Philadel- 
phia Monthly  Meeting  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  The  sub- 
ject was  brought  up  by  no  less  a  personage  than  William 
Penn  himself,  for  "his  mind  had  long  been  engaged  for  the 
benefit  and  welfare  of  the  Negroes."  Penn,  with  the  con- 
sent of  the  Colonial  Council,  also  recommended  special  leg- 
islation for  Negroes.  Slavery  seemed  to  be  taken  as  a  mat- 
ter of  course.  Nothing  is  heard  of  the  emancipation  after 
fourteen  years'  service,  provided  for  in  the  plans  of  the 
Free  Society  of  Traders.     In  1683,  Penn  wrote  a  long  let- 


8  The  Negro  In  Pennsylvania 

ter  to  the  Free  Society  of  Traders,  making  mention  of  the 
important  things  relating  to  the  Colony  but  said  nothing 
of  Negroes.  For  half  a  century  the  trade  in  slaves  increas- 
ed, not  however  without  evoking  some  hostility  from  the 
Quakers  and  other  anti-slavery  colonists. 

Newspapers  contained  frequent  advertisements  con- 
cerning slaves.  Indeed,  half  of  the  advertising  matter  of  the 
American  Weekly  Mercury,  Pennsylvania's  first  news- 
paper, consisted  of  advertisements  for  the  sale  of  Negroes, 
or  for  the  apprehending  of  Negro  slaves  or  other  servants. 

Slavery  reached  its  height  in  Pennsylvania  between 
1750  and  1763  and  from  the  latter  date,  began  to  decline. 
There  are  but  few  statistics  of  Negroes  in  the  Colony ;  and 
in  the  literature  of  the  early  times  there  are  but  few  ref- 
erences from  which  to  form  a  trustworthy  estimate  of  the 
number  of  slaves.  But  from  the  legislation  of  the  times,  the 
increasing  number  of  protests  of  the  abolitionists  and  other 
references,  it  is  probable  that  slaves  must  have  existed  in 
the  Colony  in  considerable  numbers.  In  1775,  2,000  slaves 
were  held  in  the  beginning  by  all  classes,  but  became  more 
and  more  characteristic  of  the  English,  Welsh  and  Scotch 
Irish  settlements  and  less  of  the  German  and  Quaker  set- 
tlements. 

On  the  whole  it  may  be  said  that  as  compared  with 
other  colonies,  the  slavery  which  existed  in  Pennsylvania 
was  mild.  Yet  there  was  a  distinct  status ;  first,  on  ac- 
count of  race  and  religion,  and  secondly,  due  to  the  in- 
fluence of  the  general  condition  of  slavery  existing  in  the 
Colonies  around  Pennsylvania.  The  Constitution  of  1682 
recognized  the  status  of  the  black  servant  as  diflfering  from 
that  of  the  white  servant  in  that  the  former  was  a  servant 
for  at  least  14  years,  while  there  was  no  specified  time  for 
the  servitude  of  the  white  servant — the  time  being  usually 
from  four  to  six  years.    In  the  second  place,  the  black  ser- 


A  Study  In  Economic  History 


vant  might  be  freed,  not  however  to  become  an  independent 
member  of  the  community  but  to  remain  under  the  patron- 
age of  some  person ,  receiving  tools,  stocks,  etc.,  from  him 
and  returning  therefor,  two-thirds  of  his  produce.  If  the 
black  servant  refused  this  freedom  he  became  a  servant  for 
life.  On  the  contrary,  the  white  servant,  on  working  out 
his  time,  came  into  possession  of  a  number  of  acres  of  land 

and  became  thereafter  an  independent  member  of  the  col- 
ony. 

The  first  special  legislative  action  with  regard  to  Ne- 
groes in  Pennsylvania  was  a  law  passed  by  the  City  Coun- 
cil of  Philadelphia,  in  1693  "against  tumultuous  gatherings 
of  Negroes  of  the  old  town  of  Philadelphia  on  the  first  day 
of  the  week."  By  this  law,  constables  or  others  were  au- 
thorized "to  take  up  Negroes,  male  or  female,  whom  they 
should  find  gadding  abroad,  on  the  first  day  of  the  week, 
without  a  ticket  from  their  master  or  mistress,  or  not  in 
their  company,  to  carry  them  to  jail  and  there  to  cause 
them  to  remain  that  night  and  without  meat  or  drink,  or 
to  cause  them  to  be  whipped  publicly."  In  1700,  seven 
years  later,  colonial  legislation  looking  toward  separate 
treatment  of  blacks  and  whites  was  suggested  by  William 
Penn  himself.  This  was  the  beginning  of  Pennsylvania's 
"Black  Code."  There  were  three  laws  proposed,  two  of 
which  were  enacted.  The  first  and  most  important  was 
"An  Act  for  the  Trial  of  Negroes,"  which  was  passed 
November  27,  1700.  This  Act  stated  that  "some  difficul- 
ties have  arisen  within  this  province  and  territory  about 
the  manner  of  trial  and  punishment  of  Negroes  committing 
murder,  manslaughter,  buggery,  burglary,  rape,  attempted 
rape,  sodomy."  It  remained  in  force  until  1705  when  it  was 
repealed  by  the  law  of  January  12,  1705-6.  The  new  law 
provided  life  imprisonment  and  thirty-nine  lashes  every 
three  months  during  the  first  year  of  such  imprisonment 


10  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

for  any  Negro  convicted  of  sodomy  or  buggery ;  an  at- 
tempt at  rape  or  robbery  of  more  than  five  pounds,  sterling, 
made  him  liable  to  branding  with  a  letter  '*R/'  or  "T," 
and  exportation.  This  act  remained  in  force  until  slavery 
was  abolished  in  1780.  In  1765,  however,  another  "Act  for 
the  Trial  of  Negroes"  was  passed.  This  act  provided  that 
the  exportation  of  the  Negro  convicted  of  robbery  or  rape, 
be  at  the  expense  of  the  master  and  also  that  the  Negro 
convicted  should  "never  return  on  pain  of  death." 

The  other  act,  suggested  by  William  Penn  and  which 
was  enacted  by  the  colonial  legislature,  was  for  the  "Better 
Regulation  of  Servants  in  the  Province,"  etc.,  which  was 
passed  November  27,  1700.  A  third  law  was  also  proposed 
by  him  to  regulate  marriage  among  slaves  but  did  not  pass. 

According  to  an  act  passed  August  26,  1721,  persons 
were  prohibited  from  selling  liquor  to  Negroes.  The  prin- 
cipal law  in  Pennsylvania's  "Black  Code"  was  that  passed 
March  26,  1725-26,  entitled  "An  Act  for  the  better  regula- 
tion of  Negroes  in  this  Province,"  which  defined  the  status 
of  the  Negro  not  only  as  a  slave  but  as  a  free  man.  This 
legislation  provided  for  compensating  the  owner  in  case  a 
slave  was  executed  for  crime;  restricted  the  free  Negroes 
and  compelled  them  to  work,  forbade  inter-race  marriage, 
required  slaves  away  from  home  to  have  passes  and  for- 
bade the  keeping  or  hiding  of  slaves  without  knowledge 
and  consent  of  their  masters. 

The  laws  of  the  colonies  discriminated  very  sharply 
between  a  Negro  and  a  white  person.  The  discrimination 
originating,  perhaps,  in  an  attempt  to  place  the  slave  at  the 
same  time  in  two  separate  categories,  that  of  a  rational  and 
responsible  human  being  and  that  of  property.  Although 
the  Negro  slave  was  property,  he  was  not  to  be  treated  as 
a  horse  or  a  cow,  but  as  a  person ;  still  not  as  a  white  per- 
son.   Later  there  were  distinctions  made  between  the  slave 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  1 1 

and  the  free  Negro,  and  between  the  free  Negro  and  the 
white  person.  In  the  latter  case,  although  the  free  Negro 
was  no  longer  considered  property,  he  was  considered  dis-. 
tinctly  different  from  white  persons. 

Some  of  the  discriminations  were  as  follows ;  As  to 
morals,  it  seemed  to  be  taken  for  granted  that  the  Negro 
had  few  and  was  only  punishable  for  moral  offences  in 
which  whites  were  involved.  For  adultery,  a  white  person 
was  imprisoned  one  year  and  fined  fifty  pounds  and  the  in- 
jured party  allowed  to  divorce,  with  heavier  penalties  for 
later  offences.  For  adultery  or  fornication  between  Ne- 
groes, even  free  Negroes,  there  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
any  punishment  whatever,  but  if  a  Negro  and  a  white  per- 
son were  involved,  the  Negro  was  to  be  sold  as  a  servant 
for  seven  years.  -The  law  against  inter-race  marriage  pro- 
vided that  a  white  person,  who  may  be  convicted  of  such 
offence,  shall  be  fined  thirty  pounds  or  suffer  the  penalty 
of  being  sold  as  a  servant  for  seven  years.  But  for  a  free 
Negro,  there  was  no  alternative  but  to  become  a  slave  for 
life.  For  rape  a  white  man  was  publicly  whipped,  not  ex- 
ceeding thirty-one  lashes  and  given  seven  years  imprison- 
ment. If  unmarried,  he  forfeited  all  his  estate ;  if  married, 
he  forfeited  a  third  of  his  estate.  For  the  second  offence 
he  was  ostracised  and  branded  with  'R"  on  his  forehead. 
For  the  same  crime  by  a  Negro  with  "any  white  woman 
or  maid"  the  black  offender  suffered  death;  and  for  at- 
tempted rape,  a  Negro  was  castrated.  There  does  not 
seem  to  be  any  punishment  for  the  rape  of  a  Negro  woman, 
whether  the  offender  be  white  or  black.  Negroes  were 
punished  by  death  for  murder,  manslaughter,  buggery,  bur- 
glary and  rape.  Whites  were  so  punished  only  for  murder 
in  the  first  degree.  For  sodomy  or  buggery  a  white  man 
was  imprisoned  for  life  and  whipped  during  the  first  year. 
Strict  laws  were  made  against  Negroes  drinking  or  remain- 


12  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

ing  out  later  than  nine  o'clock  at  night  or  wandering 
through  the  country  or  competing  with  white  men,  etc. 
Whites  were  tried  by  a  jury  of  their  peers  of  freeholders, 
but  Negroes  by  two  justices  and  six  freeholders.  For  pun- 
ishment, whites  were  generally  fined  or  imprisoned ;  Ne- 
groes were  generally  whipped.  The  law  against  trafficing 
with  servants  provided  for  a  fine  for  the  white  master,  a 
term  of  servitude  for  the  white  servant,  but  "if  the  servant 
be  black  he  shall  be  severely  whipped/*  For  firing  a  gun 
or  other  arms,  making  or  selling  fireworks,  in  Philadelphia, 
the  fine  was  five  shillings  or  two  days'  imprisonment,  but 
if  such  offender  be  a  Negro  or  Indian  slave,  instead  of  im- 
prisonment,  he  was   publicly   whipped. 

So  far  as  the  laws  of  the  colony  go,  there  is  evidence 
that  Pennsylvania  took  but  little  legal  notice  of  the  fact 
that  Negroes  might  be  morally  improved.  There  were  laws 
on  the  statute  books  of  the  colony  and  state  for  nearly  a 
hundred  years,  which  were  calculated  only  to  inspire  Ne- 
groes with  fear,  to  discourage  individual  initiative  on  their 
part,  to  emphasize  the  difference  between  whites  and  blacks, 
to  create  a  status  of  inferiority  for  the  Negro,  the  effect 
of  which  was  to  put  even  the  free  Negro  beneath  the  white 
servant.  Although  every  protection  was  thrown  around 
white  women,  there  was  no  hint  of  protection  of  Negro 
women  against  white  men  or  against  men  of  their  own  race. 
So  far  as  the  laws  of  Pennsylvania  were  concerned  the 
Negro  woman  was  not  recognized  to  have  any  virtue.  The 
one  effort  made  by  William  Penn,  in  1700,  to  give  moral 
standing  to  the  Negroes  by  regulating  marriage  among 
them,  was  defeated  in  the  Assembly  and  there  the  matter 
rested  for  many  years.  The  beginning  of  the  Negro  race  in 
this  State  was  under  a  moral  handicap  as  well  as  an  eco- 
nomic handicap. 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  13 


THE  ABOLITION  OF  SLAVERY 


Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  Pennsylvania  drew  sharp 
lines  between  Negroes  and  whites,  and  by  her  laws  laid 
the  foundation  for  a  black  caste  and  a  white  caste,  yet  to 
the  people  of  this  State  is  due  much  credit  for  instituting 
many  of  the  most  fruitful  efforts  against  the  slave  system. 
This  contradictory  position  may  be  accounted  for  by  two 
things:  first,  to  the  favorable  attitude  of  the  British  gov- 
ernment regarding  slavery  in  its  colonies,  and  second,  to  the 
contrary  attitude  represented  chiefly  by  the  Quakers.  In 
this  contradictory  position  we  see  in  bold  relief  the  struggle 
between  the  economic  and  moral  elements  of  our  early 
colonial  society.  It  was  presumed  economic  necessity 
which  caused  slavery  to  take  root  and  to  flourish  in  the 
Colony  of  Pennsylvania.  The  moral  sense  of  the  colony, 
however,  was  never  entirely  crushed  by  its  economic  needs. 
Long  before  the  economic  advantage  of  free  as  against 
slave  labor  was  clearly  demonstrated,  in  this  colony,  for 
purely  moral  and  religious  reasons,  vigorous  protests  against 
slavery  were  published.  Pennsylvania  might  well  be  called 
the  parent  of  the  movement  for  the  abolition  of  Negro 
slavery.  For  not  only  was  the  first  protest  against  slave 
trade  in  this  country  made  here,  but  here  the  underground 
railroad  was  probably  started;  here  the  first  abolition  society 
was  formed ;  here  the  first  anti-slavery  society  was  organ- 
ized ;  here  was  the  first  trial  of  gradual  abolition  by  law,  and 
here  numerous  pioneer  movements  for  the  emancipation 
of  the  slaves  and  the  betterment  of  the  condition  of  the 
freedmen  found  fertile  soil  and  vigorous  growth. 

There  were  possibly  three  distinct  factors  which 
brought  about  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  colony.     The 


14  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

first  of  these  was  religious  sentiment,  represented  chiefly 
by  the  Quakers,  who  based  their  opposition  to  slavery  on 
the  principle  of  brotherhood  as  taught  by  Jesus.  They 
made  no  excuse  or  allowance  for  economic  needs  and  often 
found  themselves  in  direct  opposition  to  the  opinion  of 
the  times.  The  first  recorded  protest  against  slavery  in 
America  was  that  by  the  German  Friends  of  Germantown, 
near  Philadelphia,  in  1688,  six  years  after  the  founding  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Colony.  These  Germans,  a  simple  God- 
fearing, liberty-loving  people,  were  quick  to  see  the  utter 
incompatibility  of  slavery  and  Christianity.  For  them,  the 
economic  motive  was  not  the  ruling  motive  of  life.  The 
original  document  containing  the  protest  was  lost  and  was 
not  discovered  until  1846,  when  Nathan  Kite  found  and 
published  it  in  ''The  Friend,"  the  organ  of  the  Society  of 
Friends.  These  Friends  considered  the  Negroes  as  men 
and  brethren  with  a  right  of  freedom  to  their  bodies.  They 
concluded  their  protest  with  this  exhortation,  "Now  con- 
sider well  this  thing,  (slavery)  if  it  is  good  or  bad.  And 
in  case  you  find  it  to  be  good  to  handle  these  blacks  in  that 
manner,  we  desire  and  require  you  hereby,  lovingly,  that 
you  may  inform  us  herein  what  at  this  time  never  was 
done,  viz:  That  Christians  have  such  liberty  so  to  do.  To 
the  end,  we  may  be  satisfied  and  satisfy  likewise,  our  good 
friends  and  acquaintances  in  our  native  country,  that  men 
should  be  handled  so  in  Pennsylvania." 

This  protest  was  drawn  up  at  a  meeting  held  in  Ger- 
mantown February  18,  1688.  The  action  of  this  and  other 
meetings  showed  that  the  protest  was  far  in  advance  of 
the  times.  The  Monthly  Meeting  declared  that  the  matter 
was  "so  weighty"  that  it  was  "not  expedient"  to  be  handled 
there.  They  referred  it  to  the  Quarterly  Meeting  which 
also  refused  to  take  a  definite  stand  regarding  it,  de- 
claring that  it  was  "a  thing  too  great  in  weight  for  this 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  15 

meeting  to  determine."  The  Yearly  Meeting  at  Philadel- 
phia found  itself  in  the  same  predicament  and  refused  to 
take  action.  At  this  time,  it  seems  that  not  even  the  Friends 
as  a  body  were  strong  enough  to  take  a  decided  stand 
against  slavery;  for  the  slaves  seemed  necessary,  to  the 
majority  of  them,  for  the  development  of  the  new  country. 
The  next  protest  was  that  which  George  Keith,  a  Quaker, 
made  at  a  meeting  of  Friends  in  Philadelphia  about  1693. 
In  1696,  "a  minute  of  advice"  was  sent  by  the  Yearly  Meet- 
ing cautioning  Friends  as  follows :  "Whereas,  several  pa- 
pers have  been  read  relating  to  the  keeping  and  bringing 
in  of  Negroes ;  which  being  duly  considered  it  is  the  advice 
of  this  meeting  that  the  Friends  be  careful  not  to  encour- 
age the  bringing  of  any  more  Negroes  and  that  such  as 
have  Negroes,  be  careful  to  bring  them  to  meetings,  have 
meetings  with  them  in  their  families  and  restrain  them  from 
loose  and  lewd  living  as  much  as  in  them  lies  and  from 
rambling  abroad  on  first  days  and  other  times."  William 
Penn  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  Philadelphia  Monthly 
Meeting  the  matter  of  Negroes  and  that  meeting  put  it  on 
record,  "That  Friends  ought  to  be  very  careful  in  discharg- 
ing good  conscience  towards  them  in  all  respects,  but  much 
more  especially  for  the  good  of  their  souls."  In  171 5,  the 
Yearly  Meeting  went  on  record  against  the  importation  of 
slaves  declaring,  "If  any  Friends  are  concerned  in  the  im- 
portation of  Negroes  let  them  be  dealt  with  and  advised 
to  avoid  that  practice."  In  1716,  the  Quarterly  Meeting  at 
Chester  tried  to  commit  the  Friends  against  buying  and 
selling  slaves,  but  without  success.  Nothing  more  practi- 
cal was  done  until  1729,  when  the  Chester  Meeting  again 
urged  against  Friends  dealing  in  slaves;  this  after  a  year, 
was  adopted  as  the  advice  by  the  Yearly  Meeting  of  1730, 
and  was  repeated  from  time  to  time.     In   1743  a  special 


16  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

query  was  adopted,  "Do  Friends  observe  the  advice  of  the 
Yearly  Meeting  not  to  encourage  the  Importation  of  Ne- 
groes, nor  to  buy  them  after  imported?"  In  1754,  a  very 
urgent  letter  was  circulated  among  the  Friends  by  the 
Yearly  Meeting  advising  against  trading  in  slaves.  In 
1755  another  step  was  made;  the  disciplinary  question 
was  asked,  "Are  Friends  clear  of  importing  or  buying  Ne- 
groes, and  do  they  use  those  well  that  they  are  possessed 
of  by  inheritance  or  otherwise,  endeavoring  to  train  them 
up  in  the  principles  of  the  Christian  religion?"  In  1755, 
the  Yearly  Meeting  also  decided  to  disown  all  members 
of  the  Society  who  traded  in  Negroes.  In  1766,  it  was  de- 
cided to  disown  all  those  members  who  did  not  manumit 
their  slaves. 

This  steady  development  in  the  attitude  of  Friends 
seems  almost  ideal,  but  it  is  always  easier  to  pass  resolu- 
tions than  to  act.  The  resolution  to  disown  slave  traders 
in  1755  was  not  followed  by  a  wholesale  disowning,  though 
some  Quakers  did  engage  in  the  trade.  After  1758,  there 
were  many  who  manumitted  their  slaves,  but  quite  a  large 
number  still  retained  them,  which  led  to  the  adoption  of 
the  severe  measures  in  1776.  But  even  this  could  not  be 
vigorously  enforced.  Some  were  holding  slaves  two  years 
after  the  resolution  of  1776.  In  1777,  the  Friends  Quar- 
terly Meeting  in  Bucks  County,  reported  that  some  of  their 
number  had  liberated  their  slaves,  but  that  others  still  per- 
sisted in  holding  them.  The  following  year  several  mem- 
bers in  Philadelphia  were  disowned  for  holding  slaves.  In 
this  year  also,  Sarah  Crowden  and  Joseph  Lovett,  members 
of  the  Falls  Meeting,  Bucks  County,  were  dealt  with  for 
refusing  to  free  their  Negroes.  As  late  as  the  registra- 
tion of  slaves  in  Bucks  County,  in  1782,  slaves  were  re- 
tained by  Quakers. 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  11 

Some  difficulties  in  the  way  of  manumission  often  made 
it  hard  for  persons  of  moderate  means  to  free  their  slaves. 
Because  a  certain  type  of  slaveholders,  in  some  of  the  colo- 
nies manumitted  the  old  and  infirm  slaves,  who  afterward 
became  a  burden  upon  the  colony,  several  colonies  had  at- 
tempted to  protect  themselves  by  requiring  the  former  mas- 
ter to  give  security  for  his  manumitted  slave,  in  case  the 
latter  should  become  a  public  charge.  Pennsylvania 
adopted  such  a  law  in  1726.  The  difficulty  under  which 
one  labored  who  desired  to  manumit  his  slaves  may  be 
illustrated  by  the  following  instance  in  Bucks  County: 

''Thomas  Lancaster,  Sr.,  a  member  of  the  Plymouth 
Meeting  and  the  owner  of  a  farm  of  200  acres  in  White- 
marsh,  having  been  prevailed  upon  by  the  Society,  after 
several  years  entreaty,  at  length  consented."  The  follow- 
ing were  the  conditions  imposed  upon  him  to  carry  out 
this  measure  legally,  according  to  the  royal  requirements: 
"At  a  General  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions  of  the  Peace,  held 
for  the  city  and  county  of  Philadelphia,  6th  of  June,  A.  D., 
1774,  Thomas  Lancaster  of  Whitemarsh  township,  in  this 
county,  yoeman,  acknowledges  himself  to  be  held  and 
firmly  bound  unto  our  sovereign  lord,  the  King,  in  the 
sum  of  thirty  pounds  lawful  money  of  Pennsylvania,  to  be 
levied  on  his  goods,  chattels,  lands  and  tenements,  to  the 
use  of  our  said  lord,  the  King."  "That,  whereas,  the  said 
Thomas  Lancaster  hath  manumitted  and  set  free  from 
slavery  a  certain  Negro  man  named  Cato,  aged  about  forty- 
six  years,  and  if  the  said  Thomas  Lancaster,  his  executors 
and  administrators,  shall  do  well  and  truly  hold  and  keep 
harmless  and  indemnified  the  Overseers  of  the  Bar,  of  the 
City  and  County  of  Philadelphia,  respectively  from  all 
costs,  charges  and  incumbrances  whatsoever,  which  shall 
or  may  happen  to  accrue  in  case  the  said  Negro  man  shall 

2 


18  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

be  sick  or  otherwise  rendered  incapable  of  supporting  him- 
self; then  the  above  obligation  to  be  void,  otherwise  to  be 
and  remain  in  full  force  and  virtue,  agreeable  to  an  Act  of 
Assembly  in  such  cases  made  and  provided." 

In  time,  economic  necessity  which  helped  to  establish 
slavery,  also  helped  to  destroy  it.  In  the  first  few  years, 
while  the  Negroes  were  profitable  for  pioneer  work,  the 
moral  and  religious  arguments  such  as  were  advanced 
by  the  German  friends,  Lay  and  Sandiford,  and  others  ap- 
parently fell  on  deaf  ears.  Men  devoted  themselves  in  reli- 
gion to  other  matters  not  so  intimately  associated  with 
their  economic  needs.  But  as  years  passed  economic  ne- 
cessity did  not  favor  an  extensive  system  of  slavery  in 
Pennsylvania  such  as  existed  in  the  South.  Economic  con- 
ditions reinforced  the  religious  and  moral  forces  and  has- 
tened the  death  of  slavery,  as  a  system,  in  Pennsylvania. 
The  quality  of  work  which  the  colonists  had  for  slave  labor 
was  such  as  tended  ultimately  to  discourage  the  devel- 
opment of  a  great  slave  system.  In  the  early  days,  there 
was  great  demand  for  slaves  to  do  the  heavy  pioneer  work 
of  clearing  the  forests,  but  as  there  was  less  and  less  of 
this  to  do,  and  as  the  easy  terms  upon  which  white  ser- 
vants could  be  induced  to  come  to  the  colony,  caused  the 
number  of  white  immigrants  to  increase,  the  actual  demand 
for  Negro  workers  decreased.  For  white  servants  were  a 
better  investment  than  Negro  slaves.  A  white  servant 
could  be  secured  for  four  or  five  years  for  the  cost  of  his 
transportation  from  Europe,  while  a  Negro  cost  consider- 
ably more. 

The  colonist  kept  the  white  servants  during  these  four 
or  five  years,  and  at  the  end  of  this  period  his  responsibility 
ended.  But  with  the  Negro  slave,  his  responsibility  did 
not  end  until  the  death  of  the  Negro.    For  even  if  he  manu- 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  19 

mitted  the  Negro  slave,  he  must  still  be  responsible  for 
him  in  case  of  sickness  or  extreme  poverty.  This,  added 
to  the  fact  that  the  white  workmen  were  chiefly  voluntary 
immigrants,  were  generally  more  intelligent  than  the  slave^ 
often  spoke  the  same  language  as  their  employers,  were  of 
their  race  and  religion,  and  above  all,  possessed  what  the 
Negro  slave  because  of  his  servitude,  could  not  possess, 
ambition  to  make  their  way  in  the  new  country — these 
things  made  the  indentured  servant  or  the  redemptioner, 
far  more  profitable  to  the  Pennsylvania  colonists,  after  the 
first  years  of  rough  pioneer  work  were  past,  than  the 
Negro  slave.  As  white  servants  increased,  slave  labor  be- 
came less  and  less  profitable  and  the  economists  were  the 
more  and  more  in  favor  of  a  restriction  on  slavery. 

The  opposition  of  free  labor  to  slave  labor  took  definite 
form  in  the  shape  of  a  protest  of  white  mechanics  and  day 
laborers  against  the  practice  of  masters  hiring  out  their 
slaves.  The  protest  stated  "That  the  practice  of  blacks 
being  employed  was  a  great  disadvantage  to  them  who 
had  emigrated  from  Europe  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  a 
livelihood ;  that  they  were  poor  and  honest ;  they  therefore 
hoped  a  law  would  be  prepared  for  the  prevention  of  the 
employment  of  blacks."  In  accordance  with  this  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  put  itself  on  record  against  the  principle 
of  masters  hiring  out  their  slaves,  declaring  that  the  prin- 
ciple was  ''dangerous  and  injurious  to  the  republic  and  not 
to  be  sanctioned."  And  four  years  later,  the  legislature 
forbade  masters  to  permit  their  Negro  slaves  from  hiring 
their  time.  Up  to  1726,  the  objection  from  the  economic 
side  was  not  as  to  slavery  as  a  system,  but  as  to  the  kind 
of  labor  slaves  should  do.  It  seems  to  be  conceded  that  a 
slave  should  do  the  work  of  his  own  master  but  not,  as 
in  the  early  days,  the  work  of  others.     This  should  be  re- 


20  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

served  for  free  laborers.  This  restriction  was,  however,  a 
blow  to  the  system,  for  it  removed  the  temptation  to  in- 
crease the  number  of  slaves  beyond  one's  personal  needs. 
It  also  tended  to  make  slave  labor  more  costly  than  free 
labor.  For  the  fact  that  the  slave  must  be  kept  the  whole 
year  and  fed  and  clothed,  without  the  privilege  of  being 
hired  out,  made  him  a  burden  in  dull  times. 

The  nature  of  the  employments  of  the  colony  made 
slavery  even  less  profitable  as  a  permanent  system.  The 
work  of  the  colony  needed  intelligence.  There  were  no 
occupations,  such  as  extensive  cotton  or  tobacco  growing, 
in  which  a  large  number  of  ignorant  laborers  could  be  used 
with  profit.  What  farming  was  done  must  be  intensive 
rather  than  extensive  and  could  be  carried  on  best  by  free 
labor.  One  person  could  not  therefore  keep  a  large  num- 
ber of  slaves.  The  chief  work  which  the  slaves  did  was  to 
help  at  gardening  and  in  domestic  service.  Now  and  then 
they  helped  in  skilled  mechanical  occupations.  There  is 
mention  at  a  very  early  time  of  Negro  blacksmiths.  But  the 
very  nature  of  these  employments  which  needed  only  a  few 
persons,  led  to  the  restriction  of  slavery.  It  may  be  also 
that  the  climate  had  much  to  do  with  the  death  of  slavery 
in  the  state.  Though  not  so  cold  as  New  England,  the 
winter  is  just  cold  enough  and  long  enough  to  differentiate 
it  from  Virginia  and  other  states  further  South.  There  is 
snow  on  the  ground  the  greater  part  of  the  winter.  The 
time  for  growth  of  agricultural  products  is  comparatively 
short.  But  the  climate  had,  possibly,  another  important 
influence.  Although  there  are  no  serious  complaints  as  to 
the  death  and  sickness  of  the  Negroes,  it  might  be  inferred 
that  their  sick  and  death  rates  were  quite  high,  making 
it  difficult  for  them  to  rear  many  healthy  children.  For 
most  of  the  Negroes  or  their  parents  came  from  the  west 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  21 

coast  of  Africa,  between  Senegal  and  the  Congo,  which  is 
a  part  of  the  Torrid  Zone,  from  ten  degrees  below  to  fifteen 
degrees  above  the  Equator.  Here,  they  had  never  known 
snow  or  cold  climate.  Many  of  those  who  came  to  Penn- 
sylvania were  born  in  Africa,  or  were  the  children  and 
grandchildren  of  native  Africans.  In  coming  to  Pennsyl- 
vania, they  came  to  the  North  Temperate  Zone,  a  distance 
from  thirty  to  forty-five  degrees.  In  making  this  migra- 
tion, the  Negroes  were  among  the  first  peoples  of  the  Tor- 
rid Zone  to  have  done  so  successfully  in  historical  times. 
But  it  took  generations  to  adapt  themselves,  and  during 
these  first  years,  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  they 
suffered  from  a  very  heavy  death  rate;  all  of  which  tended 
to  make  slavery  less  and  less  profitable. 

Many  of  the  most  thoughtful  men  of  the  times  saw  that 
slavery  was  not  only  morally  wrong  but  economically  un- 
profitable and  set  themselves  against  it.  Benjamin  Frank- 
lin became  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Abolition  Society, 
and  was  its  president  at  one  time.  Writing  of  the  labor  of 
slaves,  he  thus  states  the  case  in  his  characteristically  prac- 
tical way :  "It  is  an  ill-grounded  opinion,  that  by  the  labor 
of  slaves,  America  may  possibly  vie  in  cheapness  with  Bri- 
tain. The  labor  of  slaves  can  never  be  so  cheap  as  the  labor 
of  workingmen  in  Britain.  Any  one  may  compute  it.  In- 
terest is  in  the  colonies  from  6  to  lo  per  cent.  Slaves,  one 
with  another,  cost  thirty  pounds  sterling  per  head.  Reckon 
then  the  interest  on  the  first  purchase  of  a  slave,  the  insur- 
ance or  risk  of  his  life ;  his  clothing  and  diet,  expense  in  his 
sickness  and  loss  of  time,  loss  by  neglect  of  business  (ne- 
glect is  natural  to  a  man  who  is  not  to  be  benefited  by  his 
own  care  or  diligence),  expense  of  a  driver  to  keep  him  at 
work  and  his  pilfering  from  time  to  time,  almost  every  slave 
being  a  natural  thief,  and  compare  the  whole  amount  with 


CJJ 


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22  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

the  wages  of  a  manufacturer  of  iron  or  wool  in  England, 
you  will  see  that  labor  is  much  cheaper  there  than  it  ever 
can  be  by  the  Negroes  here." 

A  third  obstacle  to  the  development  of  slavery  in  Penn- 
sylvania was  the  spirit  of  independence  and  the  enthusiasm 
for  the  equality  of  all  men,  a  spirit  much  akin  indeed  to  the 
religious  sentiment  above  referred  to,  which  as  one  of  the 
foundation  stones  of  the  philosophy  of  the  times,  came  as 
a  climax  to  the  revival  of  learning.  Toward  the  end  of  the 
eighteenth  century  men  were  taken  with  a  positive  and 
2-ather  sudden  zeal  for  humanity,  for  freedom,  equality  and 
fraternity.  In  France,  the  practical  result  of  this  was  the 
revolt  against  monarchy,  known  as  the  French  Revolution. 
In  America,  the  result  was  a  revolt  against  foreign  rule  and 
an  assertion  of  political  independence.  The  American 
Declaration  of  Independence  declared,  ''all  men  are  created 
equal ;"  and  many  of  the  signers  of  that  document  believed 
that  this  freedom  and  equality  ought  to  extend  to  black  as 
well  as  white  men.  Then,  too,  the  part  that  Negroes  took 
in  the  Revolutionary  War  made  a  profound  impression  on 
the  minds  of  many.  In  Pennsylvania  and  in  the  North, 
economic  conditions  were  such  that  this  spirit  of  liberty 
could  have  its  full  efitect  so  far  as  the  Negroes'  bodily  free- 
dom was  concerned. 

The  legislative  attempt  to  restrict  slavery  and  the  slave 
trade  represents  a  politico-economic  movement  in  which  the 
politics  was  dominated  by  economic  necessity.  At  first,  the 
legislative  attempt  had  but  little  success.  One  reason  for 
this  was,  that  the  Legislature  or  General  Council  of  Penn- 
sylvania had  but  little  power  in  itself.  Its  laws  had  to  pass 
for  review  before  the  English  Government  and  at  that  time 
it  was  thought  to  be  advantageous  to  England  to  push  the 
slave  trade  as  far  as  possible.  By  the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  the 
British  secured  privileges  which  stimulated  the  trade  more 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  23 

than  ever  before.  Up  to  the  time  of  the  Revolutionary 
War,  we  have  but  one  act  in  Pennsylvania,  which  was  de- 
signed to  prohibit  the  importation  of  slaves  outright.  But 
this  act,  which  was  entitled,  ''An  act  to  prevent  the  impor- 
tation of  Negroes  and  Indians  into  this  province,"  was  in- 
spired by  the  fear  of  Negroes  more  than  the  love  of  free- 
dom. It  was  passed  June  7,  1712  and  was  repealed  Febru- 
ary 20,  1713,  and  was  never  enforced.  In  this  same  year, 
1712,  William  Southbe,  an  ardent  abolitionist,  applied  to 
the  Pennsylvania  Assembly  for  a  declaration  of  freedom  to 
all  Negroes.  To  this,  the  Assembly  resolved  that  it  was 
neither  practical  nor  convenient  to  set  them  at  liberty.  A 
series  of  duty  acts  was  enacted  between  1700  and  1780 
which  were  designed  more  for  the  raising  of  revenue  than 
for  prohibiting  the  slave  trade.  The  first  of  these  passed 
November  2y,  1700,  was  entitled,  ''An  act  for  granting  an 
impost  upon  wines,  rum,  beer,  ale,  cider,  etc.,  imported,  re- 
torted and  sold  in  this  province  and  territories."  Section  2, 
provided  "for  every  Negro,  male  or  female,  imported,  if 
above  sixteen,  twenty  shillings;  for  every  Negro  under  the 
age  of  sixteen,  six  shillings."  Six  years  later,  January  12, 
1706,  the  duty  was  raised  to  forty  shillings  for  each  slave 
except  those  who  had  lived  two  years  in  this  country.  In 
1710,  Section  28  of  another  act  confirmed  the  duty  of  forty 
shillings  of  the  act  of  1706  and  made  it  general  for  all  im- 
ported Negroes.  Within  two  months  of  this  last  act,  came 
another  act  of  February  28,  171 1,  under  the  same  title,  "An 
impost  act,  laying  a  duty  on  Negroes,  etc.,"  which  affirmed 
the  duty  of  forty  shillings  on  Negroes  not  imported  for  the 
use  of  the  importer.  This  duty  was  in  force  until  February 
20,  1713-1714,  when  it  was  repealed  by  a  new  "act  for  laying 
a  duty  on  Negroes  imported  into  this  province,"  which  plac- 
ed the  duty  at  five  pounds,  and  made  the  restriction  that  the 


24  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

slaves  of  persons  immigrating  to  the  colony  must  not  be 
sold  for  twelve  months.  This  was  repealed  July  21,  1719. 
There  were  other  acts  laying  duties  and  confirming  previ- 
ous acts.  February  22,  1717-18,  an  act  was  passed  continu- 
ing the  duty  of  five  pounds,  but  providing  that  the  slaves 
of  immigrants  should  be  entered  free,  if  they  be  not  sold 
for  sixteen  months.  This  act  was  continued  by  an  act  Feb- 
ruary 24,  1725-26,  and  that  in  turn  by  an  act  May  12,  1722, 
and  again  on  March  5,  1725-1726,  this  time  providing  an  ad- 
ditional five  pounds  to  the  duty.  None  of  these  acts  was  ever 
considered  by  the  Crown,  and  all  were  allowed  to  become 
laws  merely  by  the  lapse  of  time.  The  last  of  this  series 
was  in  1729,  when  the  duty  was  fixed  at  two  pounds.  After 
1729  there  were  no  more  "Duty  Acts"  in  Pennsylvania  for 
thirty-two  years  until  March  14,  1761,  when,  "An  act  for 
the  laying  of  a  duty  on  Negro  and  Mulatto  slaves,  etc."  was 
passed.  A  duty  of  ten  pounds  was  again  provided  for. 
This  was  supplemented  the  next  month,  and  continued  to 
February  20,  1768.  The  last  act  of  the  Colonial  Govern- 
ment was,  "An  act  for  making  perpetual  of  the  acts  en- 
titled, 'An  act  for  the  laying  of  a  duty  on  Negro  and  Mulat- 
to slaves  imported  into  this  province,  etc'  "  This  act  in- 
creased the  duty  to  twenty  pounds  and  remained  in  force 
until  the  act  of  gradual  abolition  in  1780.  That  there  was 
not  much  change  when  the  English  rule  ceased  is  shown 
by  an  act  passed  by  the  Legislature  September  7,  1778,  to 
appoint  an  official  to  collect  the  duties  accrued  since  July 
4,  1776.  At  best,  the  legislative  attempt  was  only  feeble 
and  was  more  for  the  purpose  of  increasing  the  revenue  of 
the  colony  than  diminishing  the  slave  trade. 

As  late  as  1775,  a  bill  to  prohibit  the  importation  of  Ne- 
gro slaves  was  vetoed  by  the  Colonial  Governor.  But  the 
spirit  of  equality  and  independence  brought  forth  by  the 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  25 

Revolution  showed  itself  in  1777,  one  year  after  the  signing 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  when  George  Bryan,  a 
representative  in  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly,  introduced  a 
bill  to  manumit  all  Negro  infants.  This  bill  failing  to  be 
passed,  the  next  year,  the  author,  being  then  Governor  of 
the  State,  called  attention  to  the  same  in  his  annual  mes- 
sage November  9,  1778.  And  again,  February  5,  1779, 
President  Reid,  of  the  Assembly,  called  attention  to  the 
subject  in  his  message  to  the  Pennsylvania  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives; and  on  March  i,  1780,  the  "Act  for  the  grad- 
ual abolition  of  slavery"  was  passed  and  Pennsylvania  be- 
came forever  a  free  State.  It  provided  that  those  already 
slaves,  should  remain  so  to  their  death  but  that  no  chil- 
dren thereafter  born  within  the  State  should  be  held  as 
slaves  for  life,  but  in  order  that  the  economic  change  might 
not  be  too  sudden,  children  born  in  the  State  might  be  held 
as  servants  until  twenty-eight  years  of  age.  It  prohibited 
the  importation  of  slaves,  with  minor  exceptions  and  abol- 
ished the  duty  acts  of  1761  and  1763.  It  also  abolished  the 
act  'Tor  the  trial  of  Negroes,"  passed  1705-6,  and  thus  put 
Negro  criminals  on  the  same  basis  as  whites. 

One  cannot  read  the  act  of  gradual  abolition  of  slavery 
without  profound  respect  for  those  who  drafted  and  passed 
it.  The  preamble  shows  how  great  was  the  influence  of  the 
''spirit  of  liberty"  in  combining  with  the  religious  and  eco- 
nomic factors  in  bringing  about  its  passage. 

There  were  possibly  not  over  5000  Negro  slaves  in  the 
State  when  the  act  of  gradual  abolition  was  passed  and  they 
were  but  a  small  proportion  of  the  entire  Negro  popula- 
tion of  the  State.  There  is  not  much  evidence  as  to  the 
immediate  effect  of  emancipation.  There  was  no  cataclysm. 
In  an  orderly  way,  Negro  slaves  gradually  assumed  the  po- 
sition of  Negro   servants,  to  eventually  become  free  citi- 


26  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

zens.  Some  difficulties,  however,  arose  over  the  interpre- 
tation of  the  act  of  March  i,  1760,  and  March  29,  1788,  the 
Assembly  passed  an  additional  explanatory  act,  "in  or- 
der to  prevent  many  evils  and  abuses  arising  from  ill-dis- 
posed persons  availing  themselves  of  certain  defects  in  the 
act  for  the  gradual  abolition  of  slavery."  This  provided 
that  all  slaves  brought  into  the  State  by  persons,  intending 
to  reside  therein,  should  be  free ;  that  slaves  or  servants  for 
a  term  of  years  must  not  be  removed  from  the  State  with- 
out their  written  consent,  certified  by  two  Justices,  under 
penalty  of  seventy-five  pounds.  It  reiterated  that  all  chil- 
dren born  in  the  State  and  liable  to  service  for  twenty-eight 
years  must  be  registered.  It  provided  against  the  separa- 
tion of  husbands  and  wives  and  of  children  from  their  par- 
ents without  their  consent,  under  penalty  of  fifty  pounds. 
It  positively  forbade  trading  in  slaves  or  equipping  vessels 
for  the  slave  trade  under  penalty  of  a  thousand  pounds.  It 
forbade  kidnapping  under  penalty  of  a  hundred  pounds 
and  provided  that  the  law  abolishing  slavery  be  read  twice 
at  each  term  of  court. 

In  accordance  with  these  two  acts,  slavery  gradually 
disappeared.  According  to  the  United  States  Census  of 
1790,  there  were  3737  slaves  in  Pennsylvania;  in  1800  there 
were  1706;  in  1810,  there  were  795;  in  1820,  there  were  211 ; 
in  1830,  there  were  386,  and  in  1840,  slavery  had  finally  dis- 
appeared from  the  State. 

THE  FREE  PEOPLE  OF  COLOR. 


Just  when  Negroes  first  became  free  in  Pennsylvania 
is  not  known.    If  the  original  design  of  the  Free  Society  of 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  21 

Traders  to  liberate  Negroes  after  fourteen  years  of  service, 
was  carried  out,  there  must  have  been  free  Negroes  in 
Pennsylvania  as  early  as  1696.  The  first  case  definitely 
known,  however,  was  in  1701,  when  Lydia  Wade,  the  wid- 
ow of  Robert  Wade,  of  Delaware  County,  manumitted  her 
slaves  by  her  will  dated  ''30,  4th  mo.,  1701,"  probated  Au- 
gust 8,  1701,  and  in  which  was  stated,  "16  ly,  my  will  is  that 
my  Negroes,  John,  and  Jane,  his  wife,  shall  be  set  free  one 
month  after  my  decease.  17  ly,  my  will  is,  that  my  Negro 
child  called  Jane,  shall  be  set  free  after  it  has  lived  with  my 
Negro  John  twelve  years  and  after  that  with  my  kinsman, 
John  Wade,  five  years."  William  Penn's  will,  made  during 
the  same  year,  provided  for  the  emancipation  of  his  slaves, 
but  in  his  last  will  there  is  no  mention  of  slaves.  It  is  pos- 
sible, therefore,  that  his  slaves  had  been  freed  or  otherwise 
disposed  of.  Janney  in  his  ''Life  of  Penn,"  says  that  the 
wishes  of  Penn  were  not  fully  carried  out  and  gives  as  evi- 
dence a  letter  written  by  James  Logan,  Penn's  secretary, 
to  whom  he  left  the  matter  of  the  slaves,  to  Hannah  Penn, 
dated  nth  of  3rd  month,  1721. 

Manumission  by  will  was  the  chief  method  of  granting 
freedom  to  Negroes  and  became  more  and  more  popular 
and  as  a  result  the  class  of  free  people  increased  gradually. 
Many,  especially  among  the  Quakers,  had  not  reconciled 
themselves  to  perpetual  slavery,  and  after  they  had  had  the 
service  of  their  slaves  for  a  term  of  years,  set  them  free. 
William  Bunson,  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Columbia, 
brought  a  number  of  slaves  with  him  from  Chester  in  1727. 
When  he  died  in  1746,  he  manumitted  them.  The  descend- 
ants of  the  Barbers,  among  the  first  settlers  of  Columbia, 
"gradually  quit  owning  slaves."  In  1805,  Sally  Bell,  a 
Quaker,  manumitted  between  seventy-five  and  a  hundred 
slaves.    Now  and  then,  the  slaves  were  given  a  start  in  life 


28  The  Ne&ro  In  Pennsylvania 

by  a  donation  of  money  or  other  wealth  by  their  former 
masters.  For  example,  in  1742,  Jeremiah  Longshore,  of 
Bucks  County,  who  possessed  thirty  or  forty  slaves,  freed 
them  by  will,  giving  each  of  them  ten  pounds. 

There  were,  however,  other  sources  of  freedom  for  Ne- 
groes. Many  slaves  gained  their  freedom  by  running  away 
from  their  masters.  The  freedom  thus  procured,  was  a 
precarious  and  often  temporary  kind.  Escaped  slaves  who 
were  caught  were  frequently  returned  to  their  masters.  It 
was  not  until  the  nineteenth  century,  when  Pennsylvania 
had  become  a  free  State  and  considerable  anti-slavery  senti- 
ment had  developed,  that  runaway  slaves  could  live  within 
the  State  in  anything  like  security.  Yet  there  were  many 
who  ran  away  and  thus  secured  freedom.  The  papers  of 
the  early  times  contained  many  advertisements  for  run- 
away slaves,  often  giving  minute  descriptions  of  them  and 
offering  rewards  for  their  return.  On  account  of  the  fre- 
quency of  the  running  away,  there  soon  developed  through- 
out the  colonies,  special  laws  for  the  apprehension  of  Ne- 
groes. Any  Negro  found  wandering  abroad  could  be  ar- 
rested. When  a  Negro  was  arrested  it  was  his  burden  to 
prove  his  freedom. 

There  were  also  cases  of  manumission  during  the  life 
of  the  owner,  generally  after  his  slaves  or  slave  had  ren- 
dered him  long  and  profitable  service.  In  the  pioneer 
period,  there  were  but  few  cases  of  this  sort,  owing  to  the 
scarcity  of  labor.  Indeed,  those  who  had  promised  to  free 
their  slaves  after  fourteen  years'  service,  have  left  no  record 
of  living  up  to  the  promise. 

During  the  Revolutionary  War,  freedom  was  given  to 
Negroes  who  bore  arms  and  who  escaped  from  the  British. 
There  were  also  a  few  who  hired  out  their  extra  time  and 
thus  gained  their  freedom,  though  hiring  out,  was  early  for- 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  29 

bidden  by  law.  There  were  aiso  those  who  were  brought 
into  the  state  and  liberated.  This  was,  however,  during 
the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  very  largely  after 
Pennsylvania  haJ  become  a  free  State  and  the  surrounding 
slave  States  of  Maryland,  Delaware,  Virginia  and  others, 
had  laws  which  were  very  harsh  respecting  the  manumis- 
sion of  slaves  and  the  residence  of  manumitted  Negroes. 
In  some  of  these  States  it  was  illegal  for  free  Negroes  to  re- 
side. Before  the  end  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  a  law  was 
passed  by  the  North  Carolina  General  Assembly  to  appre- 
hend and  resell  freed  Negroes,  and  several  years  later,  a 
bill  was  presented  to  the  Tennessee  Legislature  to  expel 
all  free  Negroes  from  the  State.  Especially  after  the  Afri- 
can colonization  agitation  began,  the  presence  of  the  free 
Negroes  among  the  slaves  in  the  South  became  obnoxious, 
and  often  masters  were  permitted  to  manumit  their  slaves 
only  on  condition  of  sending  them  out  of  the  State.  Thus, 
one  Israel  Bacon,  of  Henrico  County,  Virginia,  manumitted 
fifty-six  slaves  who  were  finally  brought  to  Columbia, 
Pennsylvania,  and  settled  in  1819.  Two  years  later,  about 
a  hundred  manumitted  Negroes  from  Hanover  County 
were  settled  in  the  same  place.  In  Virginia  and  North 
Carolina,  manumission  societies,  fostered  chiefly  by  Quak- 
ers, were  largely  interested  in  sending  Negroes  out  of  the 
slave  States  into  the  free  States.  As  early  as  1740,  there  was 
correspondence  between  the  Yearly  Meeting  of  these  two 
Southern  colonies,  and  in  1776  the  Eastern  Quarterly 
Meeting  of  North  Carolina  advised  the  manumission  of 
slaves.  In  1814  more  than  forty  Negroes  were  sent  to 
Pennsylvania  by  the  North  Carolina  Quakers,  and  from 
year  to  year,  others  were  sent.  Smaller  numbers  came 
from  other  States  and  counties  and  settled  in  different  parts 
of  Pennsylvania.     In  1790  there  were  6537  free  persons  of 


30  The  Neiro  In  Pennsylvania 

color  out  of  a  total  of  10,274  colored  people,  and  in  1800 
there  were  more  than  twice  as  many;  14,564  of  the  16,270 
Negroes  being  free. 

Prior  to  the  year  1780,  the  free  Negro  had  a  distinctly 
lower  legal  and  social  status  than  the  white,  though  not  so 
low  a^  that  of  the  slave.  The  movement  of  the  free  Negroes 
was  restricted,  congregating  by  themselves  was  limited, 
their  rights  before  the  courts  were  but  scantily  recognized. 
Few  in  number  and  shut  out  as  they  were  by  the  common 
society,  it  is  but  reasonable  to  suppose  that  they  lagged  be- 
hind the  rest  of  their  environment.  The  original  reason 
for  their  presence  in  the  State  was  to  serve.  When  their 
servitude  was  over,  they  occupied  an  embarrassing  position. 
In  the  preamble  to  the  Third  Section  to  the  Act  of  1725-26 
it  was  declared  that,  ''Free  Negroes  are  an  idle  and  slothful 
people,  and  often  prove  burdensome  to  the  neighborhood 
and  afford  ill  example  to  other  Negroes." 

In  1790  the  Constitution  of  the  State  gave  the  right  of 
elective  franchise  to  all  male  citizens  of  the  State  twenty- 
one  years  of  age,  making  no  color  distinctions.  Whether 
or  not  Negroes  voted  before  1790,  cannot  be  ascertained. 
But  it  is  posssible  that  some  of  them  voted  and  that  the 
purpose  of  the  attempt  to  introduce  the  word  "white"  was 
not  only  to  provide  for  a  probable  future  contingency,  but 
to  make  an  end  of  what  some  thought  a  civic  evil. 

The  first  attempt  at  anything  like  independent  eco- 
nomic organization  among  the  Negroes  was  the  Free  Afri- 
can Society,  which  was  organized  in  1787  for  the  purpose 
of  looking  after  the  sick  and  poor  among  them.  This  at- 
tempt became  of  great  importance  in  the  early  history  of 
Negroes  of  this  part  of  the  country.  The  following  ex- 
cerpts from  the  Constitution  and  By-Laws  will  illustrate 
its  character: 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  31 

Preamble  of  the  Free  African  Society,  "Philadelphia, 
I2th,  4th  month,  1787.  Whereas,  Absalom  Jones  and 
Richard  Allen,  two  men  of  the  African  race,  who  for  their  \ 
religious  life  and  conversation,  have  obtained  a  good  re-  \ 
port  among  men,  these  persons,  from  a  love  to  the  people 
of  their  complexion,  whom  they  behold  with  sorrow,  be- 
cause of  their  irreligious  and  uncivilized  state,  often  com- 
muned together  upon  this  painful  subject,  in  order  to  form 
some  kind  of  religious  society,  but  there  being  too  few  un- 
der like  concern  and  those  who  were,  were  different  in  their 
religious  sentiments;  with  these  circumstances,  they  labor- 
ed for  some  time,  till  it  was  proposed,  after  a  serious  commu- 
nication of  sentiments,  that  a  society  should  be  formed, 
without  regard  to  religious  tenets,  provided  the  persons 
lived  an  orderly  and  sober  life,  in  order  to  su,pport  one  an- 
other in  sickness  and  for  the  benefit  of  their  widows  and 
fatherless  children. 

"Articles.  (17th,  5th  mo.,  1787.)  We,  the  free  Afri- 
cans and  their  descendants  of  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  in 
the  State  of  Pennsylvania  or  elsewhere,  do  unanimously 
agree,  for  the  benefit  of  each  other,  to  advance  one  shilling 
in  silver,  Pennsylvania  currency,  monthly  and  after  one 
year's  subscription  from  the  date  hereof  then  to  hand  forth 
to  the  needy  of  this  society,  if  it  should  require,  the  sum  of 
three  shillings  and  nine  pence  per  week  of  said  money; 
provided,  this  necessity  is  not  brought  on  them  by  their 
own  imprudence.  And  it  is  further  agreed  that  no  drunk- 
ard or  disorderly  person  be  admitted  as  a  member,  and  if 
they  should  prove  disorderly  after  having  been  received, 
the  said  disorderly  person  shall  be  disjoined  from  us,  if 
there  is  not  an  amendment,  by  being  informed  by  two  of 
the  members,  without  having  any  of  his  subscription  money 
returned  to  him.     And  if  any   should  neglect  paying  his 


32  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

monthly  subscription  for  three  months  and  no  sufficient 
reason  appearing  for  such  neglect,  if  he  do  not  pay  the 
whole  at  the  next  ensuing  meeting,  he  shall  be  disjoined 
from  us  by  being  informed  by  two  of  the  members  as  an 
offender,  without  having  any  of  his  subscrpition  money  re- 
turned. Also  if  any  persons  neglect  meeting  every  month, 
for  every  omission  he  shall  pay  3  pence,  except  in  case  of 
sickness  or  other  complaint  that  should  require  the  assist- 
ance of  the  society,  then,  and  in  such  a  case,  he  shall  be  ex- 
empt from  the  fines  and  subscriptions  during  the  said  sick- 
ness. Also,  we  apprehend  it  to  be  just  and  reasonable,  that 
the  surviving  widow  of  a  deceased  member  should  enjoy 
the  benefits  of  this  society  as  long  as  she  remains  his  wid- 
ow, complying  with  the  rules  thereof,  excepting  the  sub- 
scriptions. And  we  apprehend  it  to  be  necessary  that  the 
children  of  our  deceased  members  be  under  the  care  of  the 
society  so  far  as  to  pay  their  schooling,  if  they  cannot  at- 
tend the  free  school ;  also  to  put  them  out  as  apprentices,  to 
suitable  trades  or  places,  if  required.  Also  that  no  member 
shall  convene  the  society  together  but  it  shall  be  the  sole 
business  of  the  committee  and  that  only,  on  special  occa- 
sions and  to  dispose  of  the  money  in  hand  to  the  best  ad- 
vantage for  the  use  of  the  society,  after  they  are  granted 
the  liberty  at  the  Monthly  Meeting,  and  to  transact  all  other 
business  whatever,  except  that  of  Clerk  and  Treasurer. 
And  we  unanimously  agree  to  choose  Joseph  Clarke  to  be 
our  clerk  and  treasurer;  and  whenever  another  shall  suc- 
ceed him,  it  is  always  understood,  that  one  of  the  people 
called  Quakers,  belonging  to  one  of  the  three  Monthly 
Meetings  in  Philadelphia,  is  to  be  chosen  to  act  as  clerk 
and  treasurer  of  this  useful  institution.  The  following  per- 
sons met,  viz,  Absalom  Jones,  Richard  Allen,  Samuel  Bar- 
ton, Joseph  Johnson,  Cato  Freeman,  Caesar  Cranchell  and 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  33 

James  Potter,  also  William  White,  whose  early  assistance 
and  useful  remarks,  are  found  truly  profitable.  This  even- 
ing the  articles  were  read  and  after  some  beneficial  remarks 
were  made,  they  were  agreed  unto."  The  society  met  in  the 
house  of  Richard  Allen  until  May,  1788,  when  it  moved  be- 
cause'his  room  was  too  small.  From  December  28,  1788, 
its  meetings  were  held  in  the  Friends'  ''free  schoolhouse." 
January  i,  1791,  the  society  began  religious  worship  in  an- 
other room.  It  seemed  to  have  been  at  first  purely  bene- 
ficiary and  included  most  of  the  free  people  regardless  of 
religious  affiliations.  The  following  extracts  from  its  min- 
utes will  give  some  idea  of  the  work  of  this  early  organiza- 
tion:  'The  17th,  7th  mo.,  1787.  At  a  Monthly  Meeting  of 
Free  Africans,  Caesar  Thomas,  William  White  and  Caesar 
Cranchell,  were  appointed  to  have  the  oversight  of  the 
members  this  month."  '''15th,  12th  mo.,  1787.  At  a  Month- 
ly Meeting  of  Free  Africans,  held  at  Philadelphia,  Mark 
Stevenson,  Caesar  Thomas,  William  White,  Moses  John- 
son, Absalom  Jones  and  Richard  Allen  were  appointed  to 
visit  the  members  and  give  such  advice  as  may  appear 
necessary."  January  i,  1788,  this  committee  reported: 
''There  are  daily  applications  to  join."     There  was  also  a 

call  for  more  funds "Our  stock  is  small,  considering 

the  numbers  of  members — at  present  it  is  but  12  pounds 
and  if  a  few  sick  members  should  now  be  supported  from 
it,  it  would  not  last  us  six  months."  At  this  meeting  a  reso- 
lution, having  as  its  purpose  raising  the  morals  of  its  mem- 
bers, was  read  and  approved :  "That  no  man  shall  live  with 
any  woman  as  man  and  wife,  without  she  is  lawfully  his 
wife  and  his  certificate  must  be  delivered  to  the  clerk  to  be 
put  on  record." 

The  committee  reported  on  its  first  case  of  discipline, 
as  follows:     "Whereas,  Samuel  S.,  one  of  the  members  of 


34  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

the  Free  African  Society,  held  in  Philadelphia,  for  the  bene- 
fit of  the  sick,  has  so  shamefully  deviated  from  our  known 
rules,  hath  often  unnecessarily  left  his  tender  wife  and 
child,  and  kept  company  with  a  common  woman,  some- 
time quarreling,  fighting,  and  swearing,  for  which  he  hath 
been  long  and  tenderly  dealt  with,  but  he  not  forsaking  his 
shameful  practices,  we  therefore  disown  said  Samuel  S., 
from  being  a  member  of  our  society,  till  he  condemns  the 
same  in  life  and  conversation,  which  is  our  desire  for  him. 
Signed  this  20th,  of  the  9th  mo.,  1788,  on  behalf  of  the  so- 
ciety, by  the  Committee.'' 

ABSALOM  JONES, 
RICHARD  ALLEN, 
WILLIAM  WHITE, 
MARK  STEVENSON, 
WILLIAM  GRAY, 
CAESAR   CRANCHELL. 
CAESAR  THOMAS. 

In  the  natural  course  of  things,  it  became  necessary 
for  this  society  to  take  the  initiative  in  almost  all  things  rela- 
tive to  the  welfare  of  the  free  people  of  color;  and  we  find 
it  taking  under  advisement  a  form  of  marriage.  The  mar- 
riage of  slaves  and  even  of  free  Negroes  had  been  much 
neglected  and  very  grave  conditions  had  therefore,  develop- 
ed. Early  in  the  history  of  the  society  a  committee  was  ap- 
pointed to  regulate  as  far  as  possible  the  matter  of  marri 
age  and  met  with  some  success.  As  to  the  financial  condi- 
tion, the  following  excerpts  from  the  minutes  of  the  society 
are  of  value:  "On  the  15th  day  of  the  ist  mo.,  1790,  the 
balance  in  the  treasury  was  42  pounds  9  shillings  and  i 
pence,  and  as  divers  members  think  a  propriety  would  at- 
tend a  deposit  of  this  balance  in  the  Bank  of  North  Amer- 
ica, he  (the  Treasurer)  is  desired  to  lodge  it  therein  on  be- 
half of  the  society  as  soon  as  convenient  and  report  his  per- 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  35 

formance  of  the  business  at  the  next  meeting."  Another 
step  was  '■.o  secure  a  burial  place.  Even  though  the  Friends 
were  as  a  rule,  the  best  friends  which  the  Negroes  had,  they 
did  not  care  to  be  buried  with  them.  In  the  record  of  the 
Friends  of  Middletown,  in  1703  is  written,  ''Friends  are 
not  satisfied  with  having  Negroes  buried  in  the  Friends* 
burying  ground,  therefore  Robert  Heaton,  and  Thomas 
Stackhouse  are  appointed  to  fence  off  a  portion  for  such 
cases."  The  same  body  of  Friends  declared  in  1798  that, 
"Negroes  are  forbidden  to  be  buried  within  the  walls  of 
the  graveyard  belonging  to  this  Meeting."  Negroes  were 
buried  on  the  edge  of  plantations,  with  unmarked  graves. 
It  therefore  became  the  duty  of  the  Free  African  Society  to 
purchase  a  lot  for  burying  purposes.  In  their  minutes  of 
March  20,  1790,  the  following  'TETITION  TO  THE 
MAYOR,"  is  recorded:  ''To  the  Worshipful  Mayor,  Al- 
dermen and  Common  Councilmen  of  the  City  of  Philadel- 
3)hia,  in  Common  Council :  The  petition  of  the  Free  Afri- 
can Society  for  the  benefit  of  the  sick,  in  the  City  of  Phila- 
delphia, respectfully  showeth :  That  the  burial  ground 
called  Potters  Field,  being  in  part  appropriated  for  the 
benefit  of  black  persons,  and  chiefly  made  use  of  for  that 
purpose,  and  your  petitioners  being  informed  that  the  Com- 
mon Council  are  about  to  let  the  same,  are  desirous  to  have 
said  burial  ground  under  the  care  of  the  said  society  and  are 
willing  to  pay  same  rent  that  hath  been  offered  by  any  other 
person  and  a  year's  advance  as  soon  as  ground  is  enclosed 
and  they  are  put  in  possession  thereof.  They,  therefore, 
pray  that  the  said  ground  may  be  rented  to  them  for  one 
or  more  years  on  the  terms  that  they  propose  and  under 


36  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 


such  regulations  as  the  Common  Council  shall  think  prop- 
er to  make.    And  your  petitioners  shall  pray." 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  society  by 

MOSE  JOHNSON, 
ABSALOM  JONES, 

Overseers. 
CYRUS  BUSTILL, 
WILLIAM  WHITE, 
HENRY  STEWART, 
TOD  FINCH, 
ABRAHAM   INGLIS, 
JAMES  CATON, 

Committee. 
The  endorsement  on  the  back  of  the  petition  was  as 
follows : 

"We,  the  subscribers,  having  for  some  time  past,  been 
acquainted  with  several  of  the  members  of  the  'FREE  AF- 
RICAN SOCIETY,  ESTABLISHED  IN  THE  CITY  OF 
PHILADELPHIA  FOR  THE  BENEFIT  OF  SUCH 
AMONG  THEM  WHO  MAY  BECOME  INFIRM,'  do 
certify  that  we  have  informed  ourselves  of  the  rules  and  or- 
ders established  by  said  society  and  approve  of  their  insti- 
tution and  can  therefore  recommend  the  members  thereof, 
as  well  as  their  humane  design,  to  the  notice  and  attention 
of  their  fellow-citizens,  they  being  worthy  of  a  degree  of 
confidence  and  encouragement." 

(Signed)  GEO.  WILLIAMS, 

WM.  ASHBY, 
JOSEPH  CLARK, 
SAME.  MAGAW, 
TENCH  COXE, 
BENJAMIN  RUSH, 
NICHOLAS  WALN, 
WILLIAM  WHITE, 
CHAS.  WILLIAMS, 
JOSEPH  JAMES, 
WILLIAM    SAVERY. 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  37 

Societies  similar  to  the  Free  African  Society  of  Phila- 
delphia existed  in  other  cities.  In  Newport,  Rhode  Island, 
and  in  Boston,  Massachusetts,  were  such  societies  among 
free  people  of  color,  and  there  is  some  interesting  corre- 
spondence between  them  and  the  Philadelphia  society.  On 
October  17th,  1789,  the  Philadelphia  society  read  a  paper 
from  the  Newport  and  Boston  societies,  which  was  brought 
by  Henry  Stewart,  a  member  of  the  Philadelphia  society, 
who  visited  these  two  cities.  The  Newport  letter  (from 
the  Union  Society)  stated  its  membership  as  40,  recited  the 
woes  of  the  Africans  and  twice  expressed  a  desire  that  Ne- 
groes go  back  to  Africa.  It  was  signed  by  the  president 
and  seven  members. 

In  reply  the  Philadelphia  society  wrote :  "With  re- 
gard to  the  emigration  to  Africa  which  you  mention,  we 
have  at  present,  but  little  to  communicate  on  that  head,  ap- 
prehending every  pious  man  is  a  good  citizen  of  the  whole 
world." 

Out  of  the  African  Society  grew  the  independent  Ne- 
gro church  organization.  At  first  this  society  was  opened 
and  closed  without  any  religious  exercises,  and  not  until  it 
was  several  months  old,  did  it  have  any  religious  or  devo- 
tional opening.  When  the  break  came  with  St.  George's 
Methodist  Church,  it  was  this  society  which  was  the  cen- 
ter for  the  beginning  of  the  real  Negro  church.  The  two 
leaders,  Richard  Allen  and  Absalom  Jones,  became  the 
heads  of  the  first  two  distinctively  Negro  churches  in  Amer- 
ica. Richard  Allen  became  the  founder  of  Bethel  African 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  at  Sixth,  near  Lombard 
Street,  which  was  founded  September,  1787,  and  afterwards 
(1816)  formed  a  union  of  independent  African  churches  into 
the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

Absalom  Jones  became  the  first  rector  of  St.  Thomas'' 


38  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

African  Episcopal  Church,  now  one  of  the  leading  Negro 
Episcopal  Churches  of  America. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century,  the  Negro 
•population  was  16,270,  of  whom  14,564  were  free  and  1706 
were  slaves.  The  free  Negro  population  increased  from 
14,564  in  1800,  to  56,949  at  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  War, 
.and  was  65,294  in  1870.  But  the  increase  in  this  element  of 
the  population  was  considerably  less  than  that  of  the  white 
population  of  the  State. 

This  period,  especially  prior  to  1852,  witnessed  a  great 
reaction  in  the  attitude  of  the  country  at  large,  toward  free 
Negroes.  Their  privileges  were  reduced  almost  to  a  mini- 
mum. Their  rights  of  locomotion  was  greatly  curtailed. 
Though  some  had  done  valiant  service  in  the  Revolution- 
ary War;  the  right  to  bear  arms  was  not  given  them  by 
the  Constitutions  of  most  of  the  new  States  admitted  into 
the  Union  during  the  first  quarter  of  the  new  century. 
Ohio  gave  the  privilege  of  the  militia  to  the  whites  only. 
Indiana  and  Illinois  did  likewise.  Although  in  some  States 
the  Negro  could  vote  in  earlier  days,  the  franchise  was  in 
the  first  half  of  this  century  taken  from  the  Negroes  in 
several  States.    This  happened  in  Pennsylvania  in  1838. 

One  of  the  chief  causes  of  the  treatment  of  the  Negroes 
was  the  agitation  among  the  members  of  the  American 
•Colonization  Society.  Many  of  the  members  of  this  body 
were  an  earnest,  well-intentioned  people,  who,  however, 
knew  but  little  of  the  real  capacity  of  the  Negroes  and  in 
spite  of  every  argument  against  their  own  ideas,  thought  to 
benefit  the  Negroes  by  removing  those  who  were  freed,  to 
Africa.  It  was  organized  in  1817,  and  included  in  its  mem- 
bership such  men  as  Bishop  White  of  the  Episcopal 
Church,  Dr.  Benjamin  Rush  and  others  of  their  class,  which 
is  sufficient  proof  that  the  purpose  was  not  wholly  against 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  39 

the  free  people  of  color.  The  society  grew  rapidly.  State 
branches  were  established  in  both  Northern  and  Southern 
States.  A  local  society  was  established  in  Philadelphia, 
and  the  Pennsylvania  State  branch  was  organized  in  1827. 
The  National  and  State  Governments  were  called  upon  to 
aid  the  purposes  of  the  society  and  gave  liberal  support. 
For  a  while  it  seemed  that  the  North  and  South  had  agreed 
upon  a  common  programme,  at  least  as  to  the  disposition 
of  the  free  Negro.  The  society  was  instrumental  in  secur- 
ing land  in  West  Africa,  where  the  Colony  "Liberia"  was 
established  in  1821.  Monrovia  (named  for  President  Mon- 
roe, who  was  a  sympathizer),  was  made  the  capital  and 
chief  city.  From  1821  to  1835  the  society  was  active  in 
transporting  Negroes  to  Liberia,  where  the  experiment  of 
self-government  was  being  tried  by  them.  The  Negroes  who 
were  transplanted  to  Africa  to  make  this  experiment  con- 
sisted largely  of  the  blacks  manumitted  in  the  South  on  the 
condition  that  they  go  to  Africa  and  a  few  persons  already 
free,  who  suffered  the  prejudice  which  their  class  had  to 
undergo  in  the  South.  Few  Negroes  from  the  Northern 
States  went.  Only  sixty-five  were  reported  as  going  from 
Pennsylvania,  from  1820  to  1833. 

The  Colonization  Society  was  an  organized  expression 
of  the  sentiment  that  Negroes  could  not  assimilate  with 
whites  and  had  no  future  in  this  country  except  that  of 
slaves ;  but  that  they  ought  to  have  an  opportunity  to  de- 
velop along  their  own  lines.  Having  done  duty  as  slaves 
the  only  hope  for  them  and  a  great  relief  for  the  whites, 
was  to  have  the  Negroes  carried  back  to  Africa.  This  was 
apart  from  the  idea,  which  no  doubt  strongly  drew  many 
of  the  Southern  element  into  the  society,  namely,  that  it 
would  relieve  the  South  of  a  class  of  people  who  were  a 
constant  menace  to  the  slave  system  and  thus,  by  ridding 


40  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

the  slaves  of  a  bad  example — the  free  Negro — and  also  by 
diverting  the  attention  of  the  North  from  abolition  of  slav- 
ery, to  colonization  of  free  blacks,  would  make  slavery  in 
the  South  more  secure. 

From  the  first  the  society  was  bitterly  opposed  by  the 
free  blacks  of  the  North.  When  the  first  attempt  was  made 
to  organize  in  Pennsylvania,  Richard  Allen,  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  free  African  Society  and  the  first  Bishop  of 
the  A.  M.  E.  Church,  and  James  Forten,  a  prominent  Ne- 
gro merchant  of  Philadelphia^,  most  strenuously  opposed  it. 
At  no  time  and  no  place  did  the  society  secure  a  very  strong 
following  among  the  Negroes  of  this  State;  and  it  enrolled 
but  few  of  the  names  of  the  most  prominent  Negroes  in 
other  Northern  States.  The  first  Annual  Convention  of 
Free  Negroes  in  1831,  adopted  a  resolution  recommended 
6y  the  committee  against  "the  operations  and  misrepresen- 
tations of  the  American  Colonization  Society  in  these  United 
States."  One  of  its  direct  influences  was  to  make  conditions 
extremely  hard  for  Negroes.  It  painted  a  picture  of  despair 
for  them,  so  long  as  they  remained  in  this  country.  It 
busied  itself  in  preaching  the  essential  mental  and  moral 
inferiority  of  the  Negro  race.  It  told  the  whites  that  the 
free  Negroes  who  were  about  one-tenth  of  the  entire  num- 
ber of  Negroes,  would  degrade  them  and  that  therefore, 
they  must  get  rid  of  them.  It  told  the  Negroes  that  their 
only  hope  was  in  Africa.  It  preached  despair.  Legislators 
took  its  word  and  accordingly,  laws  were  constructed 
against  Negroes,  in  most  wanton  disregard  of  the  spirit  of 
the  generation  before. 

Illustrating  the  state  of  public  opinion  brought  about 
by  the  society,  its  organ,  the  African  Repository,  of  March, 
1827,  printed  from  the  Public  Ledger,  of  Philadelphia,  the 
following:     'Tn  consequence  of  his  "own  inveterate  habits 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  41 

and  the  no  less  inveterate  prejudices  of  the  whites,  it  is  a 
sadly  demonstrated  truth  that  the  Negro  cannot  in  this 
country,  become  an  enlightened  and  useful  citizen.  If  then, 
they  are  a  useless  and  dangerous  species  of  population,  we 
would  ask,  is  it  generous  to  our  Southern  friends  to  burden 
us  with  them?  We  think  it  is  a  mistaken  philanthropy, 
which  would  liberate  the  slave,  unfitted  by  education  and 
habit  for  freedom,  and  cast  him  upon  a  merciless  and  de- 
spising world;  for  the  Negroes'  condition  is  not  alleviated 
and  an  unkindly  act  is  done  to  the  free  States"  Another 
item  in  the  same  organ  of  the  society  was  taken  from  the 
Ohio  State  Journal,  as  follows :  "Columbus,  Ohio,  July  12. 
We  are  suffering  under  many  pernicious  effects  incident  to 
a  slave  population,  without  any  of  the  few  benefits  which 
are  derived  from  slave  holding.  Immense  numbers  of  mu- 
lattoes  are  constantly  flocking  by  tens  and  hundreds  into 
Ohio.  Their  fecundity  is  proverbial;  they  are  worse  than 
drones  to  society  and  they  already  swarm  in  our  land  like 
locusts.  This  State  calls  loudly  for  legislative  interfer- 
ence." A  correspondent  from  Maine,  a  clergyman,  wrote 
the  Repository:  'The  colored  population  of  this  country 
can  never  rise  to  respectability  and  happiness  here."  The 
weaknesses  of  the  free  Negroes  were  exaggerated  and  their 
failures  were  widely  advertised,  to  convince  them  and  the 
whites  that  they  had  no  place  in  this  country. 

Pennsylvania  did  not  go  quite  so  far  as  other  States 
but  the  reaction  showed  itself  even  here.  The  first  attempt 
made  in  the  State  to  get  obnoxious  laws  in  operation,  was 
in  July,  1832,  just  after  the  Nat  Turner  insurrection  in  Vir- 
ginia, when  a  bill  was  introduced  in  the  Legislature  to  re- 
quire all  free  Negroes  to  carry  passes  and  to  exclude  all 
others  from  the  State.  This  bill  was  defeated.  Five  years 
later,  however,  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  Commonwealth 


42  The  Negro  In  Pennsylvania 

in  the  case  of  Hobbs  et  al.,  v.  Fogg,  declared  that  a  Negro 
was  not  a  free  man  in  the  sense  of  being  a  voter.  The  fol- 
lowing year,  1838,  the  Constitutional  Convention  limited  the 
franchise  to  "free  white  male"  citizens;  and  until  1855,  for 
a  period  of  seventeen  years,  the  Negroes  of  the  State  were 
disfranchised. 

Under  these  discouragements,  it  would  have  been 
quite  natural  for  the  Negroes  to  have  sunk  into  even  a  lower 
position  than  the}^  were.  What  they  needed  was  encour- 
agement and  inspiration  and  not  discouragement  and  ostra- 
cism. They  were  but  an  extremely  small  minority  of  the 
population  and  at  best,  they  would  do  but  little.  They 
were  lately  enslaved  and  generally  ignorant.  The  Coloni- 
zation agitation  was  one  of  the  most  unfortunate  occur- 
rences which  entered  into  the  life  of  the  Northern  Negro. 

Contrary  to  the  above  opinions,  the  Negroes  of  Penn- 
sylvania were  generally  progressing,  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  the  period  from  1820  to  1855  was  for  them,  the 
darkest  in  the  history  of  the  State.  With  the  aid  of  Quak- 
ers and  abolitionists,  who  as  a  body,  were  never  very  en- 
thusiastic over  the  colonization  scheme,  they  had  establish- 
ed schools,  churches,  and  other  institutions  of  helpfulness 
and  uplifts.  Between  1820  and  1855,  there  were  established 
at  least  a  dozen  schools  taught  by  Negroes,  largely  under 
the  patronage  of  Friends. 

Philadelphia  Negroes  organized  during  this  period, 
various  literary  and  debating  societies.  In  1833,  the  ''Phila- 
delphia Library  Company  of  Colored  Persons"  was  organ- 
ized and  in  1841  had  a  hundred  members  notwithstanding 
the  entrance  fee  was  one  dollar  and  the  monthly  dues,  twen- 
ty-five cents.  The  Rush  Library  Company  and  Debating 
Society  of  Pennsylvania  was  organized  in  1836.  The  De- 
mosthenean  Institute  was  organized  in   1839,  and  the  Gil- 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  43 


bert  Lyceum  in  1841.  Among  the  women  were  the  Mi- 
nerva Literary  Society  and  the  Edgeworth  Literary  Asso- 
ciation. Out  of  one  of  these  societies  grew  a  Negro  news- 
paper— The  Demosthenean  Shield,  which  was  started  in 
1841.  This  paper  had  a  subscription  list  of  a  thousand  at 
its  first  appearance. 

The  Institute  for  Colored  Youth  was  established  for 
the  special  purpose  of  extending  to  Negroes  ''the  benefits 
of  a  good  education."  In  this  period,  Negro  minstrels  be- 
gan to  attract  attention  in  Philadelphia.  This  period  also 
saw  the  organization  of  the  churches.  In  1816,  the  African 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  denomination  was  organized 
in  Philadelphia;  and  in  1820  the  African  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Zion  Church  in  New  York.  These  were  the  first  at- 
tempts of  Negroes  to  secure  co-operation  in  church  matters 
on  a  large  scale.  During  this  period  the  African  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church,  with  headquarters  at  Philadelphia, 
sent  its  black  missionaries  as  far  west  as  the  Mississippi 
River  and  north  into  Canada  to  organize  the  church  life  of 
the  blacks  of  these  sections.  This  period  also  witnessed 
the  rise  of  the  independent  secret  orders  among  Negroes, 
which  have  become  so  powerful  among  them  throughout 
the  country.  The  strongest  of  these  in  early  days  was  the 
Odd  Fellows,  which  was  introduced  from  England  in  1843 
and  1846.  During  this  period  we  have  from  time  to  time, 
sketches  of  Negroes  of  Philadelphia  and  Pennsylvania. 
The  chief  ones  were  made  in  1837,  1848  and  1856.  In  1837 
there  was  made  a  registry  of  the  trades  of  Free  People  of 
Color,  which  gave  the  names  of  a  large  number  of  Negroes 
doing  business  on  their  own  account.  In  1838  there  was 
published  a  pamphlet  on  "The  Present  State  and  Condition 
of  the  People  of  Color  of  Philadelphia,"  in  which  it  was  re- 
ported that  whereas  the  taxable  real  estate  of  229  persons 


44  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

was  $112,464;  it  was  in  1838,  $322,532,  with  encumbrances 
amounting  to  only  $12,906.  The  personal  property 
amounted  to  $667,859,  making  a  total  of  $990,391,  for  both 
real  and  personal  property.  It  was  reported  that  Negroes 
paid  $161,008  in  house  rents,  $5491  in  ground  rents  and 
$464.50  in  water  rents. 

In  1849  another  report  was  made  on  the  "Condition  of 
the  People  of  Color  of  Philadelphia."  The  value  of  real  es- 
tate was  put  at  $531,809,  and  the  amount  of  encumbrance 
by  mortgage  and  ground  rent  at  $130,442,  making  a  net  real 
estate  valuation  of  $401,367.  The  total  number  of  families 
in  the  city  was  reported  as  4262,  and  the  total  number  of 
property  owners  as  315,  about  7.4  per  cent,  of  the  total. 
The  value  of  personal  estate  was  estimated  as  $630,886,  of 
which  all  except  $194,318  was  owned  by  persons  living  with 
white  families.  Forty-three  persons  were  said  to  own  prop- 
erty worth  from  $1000  to  $2000;  ten  from  $2000  to  $5000, 
and  two  between  $10,000  and  $20,000.  The  property  hold- 
ers were,  78  laborers ;  53  females,  of  whom  46  were  widows ; 
49  tradesmen,  41  mechanics,  35  coachmen  and  hackmen,  28 
waiters,  20  hairdressers,  and  11  professional  men.  Be- 
sides the  above,  they  were  reported  to  have  had  $200,000  in 
banks.  In  1849,  the  report  showed  that  there  were  15,532 
Negroes  in  the  city,  of  whom  8900,  or  57.5  per  cent,  were 
natives  of  Pennsylvania,  and  6632,  or  42.77  per  cent,  were 
immigrants ;  1077  were  born  slaves,  of  whom  y6y  were 
manumitted  by  their  masters;  275  bought  their  freedom 
themselves,  paying  $63,034  for  the  same;  and  the  freedom 
of  256  was  purchased  by  others;  the  remaining  39  not  re- 
porting. In  the  "Statistics  of  Colored  People,"  published 
in  1856,  there  is  the  following  statements :  "We  (of 
Philadelphia)  possess  $2,685,693  of  real  and  personal  es- 
tate and  have  paid  $9766.42  for  taxes  during  the  past  year. 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  45 

and  $396,782.27  for  house  and  ground  rent.  We  have  had 
incorporated  108  mutual  beneficial  societies,  having  9762 
members,  with  an  annual  income  of  $29,600  and  a  perma- 
nent invested  fund  of  $28,366,  which  is  deposited  in  various 
institutions  among  the  whites,  who  derive  large  profit  there- 
from. One  thousand  three  hundred  and  eighty-five  fami- 
lies were  assisted  by  these  societies  to  the  amount  of  $10,- 
292.38  during  the  year  1853.  Again  as  to  crimes  among  us, 
by  a  letter  from  Judge  Kelly,  written  in  answer  to  certain 
questions  put  to  him,  it  is  shown  that  for  the  three  years 
up  to  1854,  the  commitments  of  colored  persons  to  the 
Philadelphia  County  prison  have  gradually  decreased, 
while  those  of  the  whites  for  the  same  period  have  mark- 
edly increased." 

This  period  witnesses  the  rise  of  Negro  business.  As 
early  as  1810,  there  was  a  Negro  fire  company  in  Philadel- 
phia. About  this  time,  the  Negro  people  began  to  go  to 
Pittsburg,  largely  from  Virginia  and  West  Virginia.  The 
Negro  engaged  in  hairdressing  and  barbers'  business.  One 
of  the  oldest  Negro  businesses  owned  by  Negroes  in  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania  is  in  Pittsburg.  During  this  period, 
the  Negro  caterers  were  the  most  prominent  in  Philadel- 
phia. Smith  &  Whipper  was  one  of  the  largest  lumber 
firms  in  South  Central  Pennsylvania.  Both  men  were 
among  the  wealthiest  Negroes  the  State  has  produced.  An- 
other development  was  the  beneficial  society.  The  Free 
African  Society  was  the  pioneer  among  them.  This  had 
become  identified  mainly  with  St.  Thomas'  Episcopal 
Church,  but  other  societies  had  grown  out  of  it.  The  con- 
dition of  these  societies  in  183 1  is  given  in  the  following  ad- 
vertisement in  the  Public  Ledger,  March,  1831 :  "To  the 
Public:     Whereas,  we  believe  it  to  be  the  duty  of  every 


46  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

person  to  contribute  as  far  as  is  in  their  power  towards  al- 
leviating the  miseries  and  supplying  the  wants  of  those  of 
our  fellow-beings  who  through  the  many  misfortunes  and 
calamities  to  which  human  nature  is  subject,  may  become 
fit  objects  for  charity.  And  whereas,  from  the  many  priva- 
tions to  which  we,  as  people  of  color  are  subject  and  our 
limited  opportunity  of  obtaining  the  necessaries  of  life, 
many  of  us  have  been  included  in  the  number  dependent 
on  the  provisions  made  by  law,  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
poor;  therefore,  as  we  constitute  a  part  of  the  public  bur- 
den, we  have  deemed  it  our  duty  to  use  such  means  as  was 
in  our  reach  to  lessen  its  weight,  among  which  we  have 
found  the  forming  of  institutions  for  mutual  relief,  the  most 
practical  and  best  calculated  to  effect  our  object."  "Some 
have  misunderstood  the  object  and  the  benefit  of  these  so- 
cieties, therefore,  this  report  is  given."  To  these  institu- 
tions, each  member  pays  a  sum  varying  from  one  to  eight 
dollars  as  an  initiation  fee,  and  from  12  to  25  cents  monthly. 
These  funds  are  exclusively  appropriated  to  the  relief  of 
such  of  its  members  as  through  sickness  or  misfortune  are 
unable  to  work ;  to  the  interments  of  the  deceased  members 
and  the  relief  of  their  widows,  orphans,  etc.  The  records 
show  a  total  of  $5,819  paid  out  in  the  years  1830-31. 

Negroes  were  not  without  interest  in  their  country, 
notwithstanding  the  country  at  that  time  gave  them  but 
little  to  inspire  patriotism.  When  the  war  with  England 
began  in  1812,  Pennsylvania  Negroes  offered  their  services. 
The  committee  which  had  charge  of  the  defense  of  Phila- 
delphia, declined  the  services  of  a  "Black  Legion"  because 
of  lack  of  arms;  but  Negroes  helped  in  the  fortification  of 
Philadelphia,  and  later  a  Negro  battalion  was  recruited  in 
that  city. 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  41 

One  of  the  growing  signs  of  racial  self-consciousness 
was  the  conventions  of  free  people  of  color.  It  was  found 
necessary  about  the  middle  of  this  period  for  the  free  peo- 
ple of  color  to  consult  one  another  about  their  welfare  in 
this  country,  and  in  the  North.  Accordingly,  several  con- 
ventions were  called.  The  first  one  of  them  was  in  Phila- 
delphia in  1 83 1,  when  there  were  forty  delegates  and  honor- 
ary members  from  Pennsylvania,  New  York,  New  Jersey, 
Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  Rhode  Island  and  Maryland. 
Pennsylvania  had  the  largest  number  of  representatives, 
eighteen  in  all.  Tlie  session  lasted  four  days  and  various 
topics  were  discussed.  One  of  the  chief  of  these  was  edu- 
cation. It  was  proposed  to  establish  a  school  of  manual 
labor,  where  students  could  go  and  work  their  way.  New 
Haven,  Connecticut,  was  chosen  as  the  place  for  such  a 
school.  In  accord  with  the  spirit  of  the  times,  however, 
the  citizens  of  New  Haven  very  greatly  objected  to  any 
such  institution.  At  a  meeting  held  in  New  Haven,  the 
white  citizens  expressed  themselves  as  greatly  opposed  to 
such  schools,  and  gave  notice  that  the  Mayor,  Aldermen, 
Common  Council  and  freedmen  of  New  Haven  would  re- 
sist its  establishment  by  every  lawful  means. 

The  manual  labor  school  was  never  established.  So 
far  as  the  evidence  goes,  this  was  the  first  attempt  of  Ne- 
groes to  establish  an  industrial  school.  The  subject  of 
emigration  also  received  a  lengthy  discussion  before  the 
convention,  and  it  was  recommended  that  the  emigration 
to  Canada  be  encouraged  as  a  measure  of  relief  from  the 
prejudice  and  persecutions  which  Negroes  suffered  in  many 
places  in  the  North.  But  "strong  resolutions  against  the 
American  Colonization  Society  were  adopted." 

The  second  convention  was  held  June  4  to   15,   1832. 


48  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

There  were  thirty  delegates  representing  eight  States, 
Pennsylvania  having  nine  delegates.  At  this  convention, 
the  American  Colonization  Society  was  vigorously  con- 
demned, abolition  of  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia 
urged  and  a  proposition  to  purchase  lands  in  Canada  for  an 
asylum  for  Negroes  emigrating  from  the  United  States  was 
discussed.  It  was  reported  to  this  convention  that  eight 
hundred  acres  of  land  had  already  been  secured,  five  hun- 
dred of  which  were  under  cultivation,  two  hundred  log 
houses  had  been  erected,  and  two  thousand  persons  had 
emigrated  there  from  their  native  country,  despite  the  hos- 
tility of  the  Canadians.  The  convention  appointed  an 
agent  to  investigate  the  whole  Canadian  situation.  At  the 
third  convention,  June  7,  1833,  there  were  fifty-eight  dele- 
gates, representing  seven  States  and  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia. This  convention  condemned  the  law  passed  by  the 
Legislature  of  Connecticut,  designed  to  prohibit  the  estab- 
lishment of  any  school  in  that  State  for  colored  persons. 
William  Lloyd  Garrison's  effort  to  obtain  funds  to  estab- 
lish a  manual  labor  school  was  endorsed;  the  Colonization 
Society's  schemes  condemned,  and  a  committee  on  the 
Canadian  settlement  was  appointed.  An  effort  was  made 
to  find  out  the  exact  status  of  the  free  people  of  color,  their 
number,  churches,  Sunday  Schools,  temperance  societies, 
benevolent  societies,  day  schools,  mechanics  and  storekeep- 
ers. It  was  further  recommended  that  "free  labor  stores" 
be  established  from  which  the  products  of  slave  labor 
should  be  debarred. 

The  next  convention  was  held  in  New  York,  June  8, 
1834,  at  which  there  were  about  forty  delegates,  represent- 
ing ten  States.  The  principal  action  discussed  this  year 
was  the  foundation  of  moral  reform  and  total  abstinence 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  49 

from  intoxicating  liquors,  which  was  recommended.  It 
was  further  urged  that  all  boarding  houses  where  gambling 
was  permitted  be  discontinued. 

The  next  session  of  the  convention  was  held  in  Phila- 
delphia, June  I  to  5,  inclusive,  1835.  Forty-four  delegates 
were  present.  In  1836  and  1837,  a  "Convention  of  the 
Moral  Reforms"  held  sessions  in  Philadelphia,  and  from 
time  to  time,  other  conventions  were  held.  Philadelphia 
was  always  the  center  for  these  early  movements  and 
Pennsylvania  Negroes  always  took  a  prominent  part  in 
them.  Among  the  representatives  of  Pennsylvania  in  this 
convention,  were  such  men  as  Bishop  Richard  Allen,  of  the 
African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church;  William  Whipper, 
James  Cornish,  Frederick  Hinton,  Richard  D.  Johnson, 
James  Forten,  Sr.,  James  Forten,  Jr.,  Jacob  C.  White,  Sr., 
Joseph  Cassey  and  Robert  Purvis. 

The  history  of  the  Negro  in  the  movement  for  the 
freedom  of  the  slave  has  hitherto  received  all  too  slight 
mention  and  except  in  a  few  rare  instances,  even  the  names 
of  Negroes  who  gave  valuable  services  have  perished. 
Without  the  presence  and  help  of  the  free  Negroes  in  Penn- 
sylvania, that  great  and  mysterious  system  known  as  the 
Underground  Railroad,  would  never  have  operated  so  suc- 
cessfully. The  homes  of  Negroes  were  the  stopping  places 
of  slaves.  When  whites  dared  not  keep  a  Negro  in  their 
homes  for  fear  of  discovery,  Negroes  could  hide  the  escap- 
ing slave  among  those  of  his  own  race.  Not  only  did  Ne- 
groes do  work  of  sheltering,  but  much  of  the  actual  work 
of  rescuing  was  largely  done  by  Negroes.  Some  of  them 
were  able  to  go  into  the  very  heart  of  slave  territory  and 
bring  their  brethren  out.  Thus  Harriett  Tubman  is  said 
to  have  led  scores  of  Negroes  out  of  slavery  into  freedom. 

4 


50  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

Negroes  did  much  of  the  hauling  from  place  to  place  and 
the  ferrying  across  rivers,  the  watching  during  the  night, 
and  general  patrolling  so  necessary  to  the  safety  of  the 
fugitives.  One  of  the  greatest  and  most  active  agents  of 
the  Underground  Railroad,  was  a  Negro  in  Gettysburg. 
Daniel  Ross,  colored,  was  active  in  Norristown;  another 
"colored  man,"  in  York;  a  colored  man  assisted  William 
White,  of  Columbia;  Cato  Johnson,  colored,  drove  a  team 
which  hauled  cars  over  the  bridge  and  brought  all  "bag- 
gage" safely  across,  where  the  agents  had  another  trusty 
colored  man  to  receive  it.     *     *     * 

The  fugitives  were  then  taken  through  Black's  hotel 
yard  to  another  portion  of  the  town  and  concealed  over 
night,  when  William  Wright,  of  that  place,  generally  took 
them  in  charge  and  sent  some  to  Daniel  Gibbons  and  some 
direct  to  Philadelphia,  in  a  false  end  of  a  box  car,  owned  by 
Stephen  Smith  and  William  Whipper,  colored  men  and 
lumber  merchants  of  Columbia.  "Thomas  Bessick,  a  col- 
ored man  who  ran  cars  in  Columbia,  was  one  of  the  bold- 
est and  most  useful  agents  there."  "Robert  Loney,  colored, 
ferried  slaves  over  the  Susquehanna  to  Columbia."  "Sam- 
uel Mifflin,  gave  an  escaped  slave  named  Perry,  over  to  the 
care  of  Robert  Loney ;"  "two  slaves  from  Cecil  County, 
Maryland,"  early  in  the  night,  they  with  their  sister  and 
her  child,  fled  to  that  well  known  colored  man  on  the  Sus- 
quehanna, Robert  Loney,  who  ferried  fugitives  across  the 
river  in  the  night,  at  various  places  below  Columbia,  and 
gave  them  to  the  care  of  William  Wright,  who  distributed 
them  to  other  agents.     Many  other  cases  are  cited. 

Not  only  in  the  actual  work  of  the  abolition  movement, 
were  Negroes  concerned,  but  they  had  part  in  the  planning 
of  the  movement  in  Pennsylvania.     It  has  been  said  that 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  5t 

the  first  twenty-five  dollars  that  William  Lloyd  Garrison 
secured  for  his  "Liberator"  came  from  a  Negro.  It  was 
true  that  even  before  the  first  issue  of  the  Liberator  was 
published,  a  Philadelphia  Negro,  James  Forten,  Sr.,  sent 
fifty-four  dollars,  payment  in  advance,  for  twenty-seven 
subscriptions.  Forten  afterward  contributed  over  a  thou- 
sand dollars  to  Garrison  and  his  cause.  Negroes  contrib- 
uted liberally  of  their  scanty  means.  "In  one  case,  as  far 
back  as  1836,  the  colored  people  of  Philadelphia  raised  over- 
seven  thousand  dollars  in  twenty-four  hours  to  purchase  a 
runaway  slave."  William  Whipper,  a  lumber  merchant^ 
said  that  he  contributed  $13,000  to  the  anti-slavery  cause; 
a  thousand  dollars,  each  year  from  1847  to  i860;  and  gave 
$5000  during  the  war.  Robert  Purvis  and  William  Still 
were  two  most  useful  members  of  the  Philadelphia  Vigi- 
lance Committee ;  the  former  at  one  time  its  president,  and 
the  latter  for  many  years,  its  secretary.  This  committee 
was  composed  of  the  most  prominent  of  the  anti-slavery  ad- 
vocates of  Philadelphia. 

It  received  the  escaping  slaves  from  all  parts  of  t'te 
country,  cared  for  them,  found  them  work  or  shipped  them 
on  toward  Canada.  This  committee  investigated  cases  of 
kidnapping  of  Negroes  and  instituted  proceedings  for  their 
recovery.  It  also  helped  to  raise  funds  to  purchase  Ne- 
groes whom  the  fugitive  slave  laws  had  delivered  out  of 
their  hands.  Much  of  the  clerical  work  with  regards  to 
these  matters  was  done  by  a  Negro,  William  Still,  the 
secretary,  who  wrote  a  very  interesting  and  comprehensive 
description  of  its  work. 


52  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

THE  NEGRO  POPULATION  SINCE  THE  CIVIL 

WAR. 


The  Civil  War  marks  a  distinct  break  in  the  history  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Negro  population.  This  break  is  noticed 
in  the  character  of  the  population.  During  the  period  be- 
fore the  Civil  War,  though  the  native  Negroes  were  barely 
a  majority,  they  were  made  of  a  desirable  sort,  while  the 
immigrant  Negroes  were  not  altogether  of  an  undesirable 
character.  In  fact  this  period  as  compared  with  later 
periods,  witnessed  the  migration  of  many  of  the  best  of  the 
Southern  Negroes  to  the  North.  There  were  several  dis- 
tinctive groups.  One  of  the  most  important  of  these,  is  the 
South  Carolina  group,  composed  of  several  score  of  Ne- 
groes who  came  chiefly  from  Charleston  and  vicinity. 
Most  of  them  were  free  born;  many  of  them  were  well 
educated  and  some  of  them  were  comparatively  wealthy. 
Among  these  were  the  Purvises,  the  Adgers,  Daniel  A. 
Payne,  afterward,  Bishop  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Church.  Many  of 
them  were  skilled  mechanics,  such  as  the  Vennings,  the 
Casseys,  the  Mains  and  others.  There  was  another  group 
not  quite  so  distinguished  as  the  Charleston  group,  from 
Delaware.  Most  of  these  were  mulattoes,  as  were  many  of 
the  Charlestonians.  They  formed  their  own  beneficial  so- 
ciety and  to  a  large  extent,  attended  their  own  church. 
Then  there  were  the  Maryland  and  Virginia  groups,  com- 
posed largely  of  ex-slaves,  but  a  selected  class,  being  those 
who  had  been  manumitted  by  their  masters,  or  who  had 
bought  their  freedom,  and  a  few  who  escaped  from  slavery. 
Another  important  group  was  the  West  India  group,  near- 
ly all  of  whom  were  skilled  in  some  kind  of  art  or  craft. 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  53 


Among  these,  were  the  LeCounts,  of  Negro-French  extrac- 
tion, the  Cuyjets,  Rolands,  Montiers,  the  Dutertes,  the  Du- 
trieuilles,  the  Augustines,  the  Baptistes,  and  others  who  be- 
came active  in  the  affairs  of  their  people. 

With  the  Civil  War  there  began  a  less  selected  kind  of 
immigration.  For,  whereas  before  the  war,  there  was  but 
small  opportunity  for  self-expression  on  the  part  of  the  in- 
telligent and  skilled  Negroes  in  the  South,  the  end  of  the 
war  suddenly  left  them  with  opportunities  which  far  ex- 
celled even  their  preparation.  When  the  slaves  were  freed, 
this  skilled  group  naturally  assumed  the  leadership  in  poli- 
tics, religion,  business,  and  otherwise.  Thus  was  cut  short 
to  a  large  extent,  the  migration  of  the  intelligent  and  skill- 
ed Negroes  to  the  North.  Indeed,  many  in  the  North,  went 
South.  On  the  other  hand,  many  of  the  exslaves  of  the 
more  ignorant  type  migrated  North. 

There  was  also  another  change  which  was  not  how- 
ever, so  sudden  as  that  in  the  character  of  the  Negro  im- 
migration and  that  was  in  the  attitude  of  the  whites.  The 
Negro  before  the  war,  had  served  in  the  family  of  the  white 
Pennsylvanian  so  far  as  to  gain  their  respect  and  largely 
their  confidence.  The  Friends  especially,  felt  themselves 
much  concerned  about  the  Negroes;  for  four  times  at  least, 
between  1820  and  i860,  they  published  statistical  sketches 
of  the  Negroes.  But  after  the  war,  the  interest  in  the  Ne- 
groes in  the  South  far  overshadowed  that  of  those  at  home. 
Then,  too,  an  entirely  new  group  began  to  congregate  in 
the  cities  and  to  overshadow  the  old  group. 

Philadelphia  and  Pittsburg  attracted  the  greatest  num- 
ber of  Negroes.  The  Negro  population  which  increased 
but  very  slowly  from  1820  to  i860,  began  after  i860,  to 
grow  rapidly  and  was  in  1900,  156,845,  an  increase  of  175 


54  The  Negro  In  Pennsylvania 

per  cent,  during  forty  years.  In  i860,  there  were  56,949 
Negroes  in  the  State;  in  1870,  65,294;  in  1880,  85,535:  in 
3890,  107,596,  and  in  1900,  156,845.  This  increase  is  due  al- 
most solely  to  the  immigration  from  the  South.  From  1870 
to  1880  it  was  greatest,  being  34.9  per  cent.  At  present 
there  is  a  rapid  increase  of  Negro  immigrants  from  the 
South,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  economic  conditions  in 
the  North  are  presumed  to  be  harder  than  in  the  South. 

The  large  plantations  of  the  South  are  being  broken 
up,  and  much  land  is  being  neglected  for  the  want  of  labor. 
The  head  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  in  Virginia 
writes:  "The  farmers  are  not  able  to  gather  crops  at  the 
proper  time  on  account  of  lack  of  labor."  The  head  of  the 
Pepartment  of  Agriculture  in  North  Carolina  writes: 
*'From  all  over  the  State  comes  the  complaint  of  the  scar- 
city of  labor."  There  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  fact  therefore, 
that  the  particular  part  of  the  South  from  which  the  Penn- 
sylvania Negro  immigrants  come,  has  great  need  of  the 
kind  of  labor  furnished  by  Negroes.  Not  only  is  there  great 
xdemand  for  laborers  to  remain  at  home  but  the  resources 
of  the  South  are  quite  undeveloped  as  compared  with  those 
of  the  North. 

The  South  is,  to  a  large  extent,  as  the  West  was  forty 
years  ago,  a  country  of  opportunity,  where  land  is  compara- 
tively cheap,  the  cost  of  living  is  comparatively  low,  im- 
provements are  easily  made;  the  climate  is  not  so  rigor- 
ous and  the  returns  from  the  lands  are  often  better  than 
in  the  North ;  in  some  places  two  crops  may  be  made 
during  a  year.  On  the  other  hand,  the  opportunities 
of  the  North,  and  especially  in  the  cities  to  which  Ne- 
^oes  go  most  rapidly,  do  not  seem  so  inviting  to  the  small 
Investor;  here  the  cost  of  living  is  high  and  tends  to  rise; 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  55 

the  land  is  practically  outside  the  reach  of  most  wage-earn- 
ers and  the  taxes  and  repairs,  connected  with  the  unsteadi- 
ness of  employment,  are  such  that  it  appears  of  but  little 
advantage  for  a  wage-earner  to  own  a  home.  Here  compe- 
tition is  keenest  and,  for  the  Negroes,  a  climate,  different 
from  that  in  which  their  ancestors  for  thousands  of  years 
lived,  as  well  as  the  indifference  and  even  hostility,  of  or- 
ganized labor  toward  the  Negro.  Here  is  also  a  higher 
standard  of  efficiency  and  a  more  systematic  method  of 
labor.  It  seems  therefore,  a  priori  that  for  the  Negro  to 
leave  the  South  and  come  to  the  North,  is  to  go  contrary  to 
sane  economic  philosophy.  Still,  the  migration  goes  on, 
and  for  this  reason,  its  causes  must  be  carefully  sought. 

In  order  to  find  out  why  the  Negroes  leave  the  South, 
a  personal  canvass  was  made  among  them.  Five  hundred 
and  twelve  Negroes  filled  out  blanks  answering  the  ques- 
tions: ''Why  did  you  leave  the  South?"  "Why  did  you 
come  to  Philadelphia?"  etc.  The  answers  are  arranged  as 
nearly  as  possible  in  the  exact  language  of  the  immigrant 
in  the  following  table : 

CAUSES  ASSIGNED  BY  PHILADELPHIA  NEGROES  FOR  LEAVING 
THE  SOUTH 

Males  Females  Total 

^"^^^  Numbef  Percent  Number  Percent  Number  Percent 

Desire  for  higher  wages 120  44.6  96          39.5  216  42.2 

Higher  wages  and  travel 12  4.5  10            4.1  22  4.3 

Higher  wages  and  protection 14  5.2  6            25  20  3.9 

To  better  conditions 25  93  31           12.8  56  lo.g 

Tired  of  the  South 9  3.3  13            5.4  22  4.3 

Wanted  to  make  change 27  10  22            9  49  9.6 

Came  with  parent  or  guardian 29  10.8  4c          16.5  69  33.5 

Old  persons  to  be  with  their  children-.  3  i.i  6           2.5  9  1.3 

Parent  died;  left  home  to  work 2  .7  52  713 

Had  position  in  North 3  i.i  3            1.2  6  1.2 

Run  away  from  home i  .4  i  '2 

Brought  away  by  soldiers 1  .4  i  .2 

To  attend  school 3  i.i    ,  *6 


Not  given ^20 7J " 4-5  3i  6 

Total a69        ico  243        100  312 


4                            

7-5 

II 

4-5 

ICO 

243 

100 

56  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

According  to  this  table  54.3  per  cent,  of  the  males  and 
46.1  per  cent,  of  the  females  came  chiefly  for  the  higher 
wages  which  they  expected.  If  those  who  came  "to  better 
their  condition"  are  included  among  those  who  came  for 
higher  wages  and  those  who  came  with  parents  or  guard- 
ians, and  elderly  persons  who  came  with  their  adult  chil- 
dren are  excluded  from  the  count,  as  having  come  without 
any  particular  choice  of  their  own,  it  is  clear  that  the  great 
majority  of  Negroes  who  came  to  the  State,  came  for  the 
money  wages  they  expected  to  obtain. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  economic  motive  is  the 
chief  one  but  just  why,  it  seems  hard  to  understand,  since 
the  economic  advantages  of  the  South  seem  to  be  so  great. 
There  are  secondary  causes,  which  will  be  discussed  be- 
fore, and  preliminary  to,  the  chief  economic  cause.  The 
first  of  these  remote  causes  is  the  change  of  the  whole 
Southern  situation.  Slavery  was  abolished,  in  the  60' s,  and 
as  a  system  became  illegal.  But  the  sentiments  of  the 
whites  and  the  capacity  of  the  Negroes  did  not  thereby  be- 
come much  altered.  The  Negro,  indeed,  freed  from  servi- 
tude had  time  to  follow  his  own  inclinations,  and  the  best 
of  them  had  opportunity  to  cultivate  their  capabilities  along 
some  new  lines.  But  the  whites — even  those  who  were 
kind — never  believed  that  Negroes  were  capable  of  self- 
initiative,  or  of  independently  carrying  on  their  own  busi- 
ness. Trained  in  this  belief  by  the  school  of  actual  condi- 
tions for  generations  in  this  country,  it  is  easily  explained 
why  the  whites  did  not  readily  accept  the  situation. 
Though  the  Negroes  were  nominally  free,  the  first  attempt 
of  the  white  South  was  to  re-enslave  the  Negroes,  by  a  sys- 
tem of  black  laws,  contract  laws,  lien  laws,  etc. 

Although  in  the  main,  these  laws  have  been  repealed 

/ 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  51 

or  changed  in  the  Southern  States,  still  the  spirit  which 
called  them  forth  is  not  entirely  dead,  so  far  as  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  whites  of  the  South  are  concerned,  and  the 
Negro  laborer  still  finds  himself  hedged  about  by  a  multi- 
tude of  laws  and  customs  which  bind  him  practically  to 
serfdom.  It  is  the  attempt  to  force  Negro  laborers  to  work 
by  outside  pressure,  rather  than  appeal  to  their  economic 
sense  and  economic  needs,  that  causes  unrest  among  the 
blacks  in  all  parts  of  the  South,  For  throughout  the  South 
the  interests  taken  seriously  into  consideration  are  the  in- 
terests of  the  white  employer  and  not  of  the  black  laborer, 
as  such. 

The  Southern  white  man  does  not  seem  to  have  yet 
reached  the  point  where  he  differentiates  between  racial 
and  economic  problems.  He  often  refuses  to  listen  to  the 
Negroes'  economic  demands,  because  he  mistakes  them  for 
demands  for  racial  and  social  equality. 

On  the  other  hand,  Negroes  are  acquiring  property, 
intelligence,  and  a  larger  view  of  the  world,  which  is  not 
retarding  the  growth  of  their  self-respect,  nor  their  desire 
for  a  larger  share  of  the  product  of  their  labor.  Because 
the  whites  of  the  South  are  not  realizing  this  rapidly 
enough,  the  vexing  problems  of  that  section  are  increasing. 

The  increase  of  intelligence  and  wealth  is  creating 
more  discontent  among  a  large  class  of  Negroes,  as  respects 
many  economic  conditions.  This  discontent  is  felt  most  by 
those  who  are  most  intelligent  and  who  possess  the  most 
wealth.  But  this  class,  however,  does  not  emigrate  from 
the  South,  chiefly  because  of  their  position.  Generally, 
they  are  situated  socially  and  economically  better  than  they 
might  be  if  they  should  leave.  But  the  Negro  who  does  not 
own  property,  who  has  no  high  position  among  Negroes 


58 


The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 


either  socially  or  economically  sees  but  little  reason  for  re- 
maining, and  when  opportunity  affords,  he  leaves.  The 
wages  paid  in  the  South  to  the  512  Negroes  above  men- 
tioned were  as  follows,  as  compared  with  wages  they  now 
receive : 

NUMBER   OF   NEGROES   RECEIVING   SPECIFIED   WAGES 
PER  WEEK  IN  THE  SOUTH  AND  NORTH. 


Weekly  Wages. 


South. 
Males .  Females .  Tot , 


North. 
Males .  Females .  Tot. 


Board  and  clothes  only. .  6  4  10 

50c.  to    $1.99 8  26  34 

$2.00  to  $2.99  22  48  70 

$3.00  to  $3.99 26  34  60 

$4.00  to  $4.99  12  II  23 

$5.00  to  $5.99  21  14  35 

$6.00  to  $6.99 47  6  53 

$7.00  to  $8.99 24  I  25 

$9.00  to  $11.99  5  •  •  5 

$12.00  to  $13.99  I  •  •  I 

$14.00  to  $15.99  I  . .  I 

$16.00  and  over  i  . .  i 

Working  for  self  5  .  .  5 

Not  working   19  24  43 

Not  reported  71  75  146 


23 

35 

64 

23 

3 

7 

5 

5 

83 


I 

II 
16 
46 
31 
12 

9 
7 
4 


19 
19 
68 


I 

II 
16 
56 
42 
35 
44 
71 
27 

3 

7 

24 

24 

151 


Total    269         243  512         269         243  512 

More  than  50  per  cent,  said  that  they  left  the  South  be- 
cause they  wanted  higher  wages,  and  this  comparison 
seems  to  corroborate  their  statement.  The  wages  general- 
ly paid  the  women  in  the  South  were  $6  per  month  ($1.50 
per  week),  to  $3  per  week  in  the  small  towns,  and  from  $2 
-to  $4  per  week  in  the  cities ;  while  the  men  in  the  South  re- 
ceive $2  to  $3.50  per  week  in  the  small  towns  and  on  the 
farm,  from  $5  to  $9  in  the  cities.  These  wages  are  bettered 
by  from  75  per  cent,  to  150  per  cent,  in  the  North.  Domes- 
tic service  pays  women  in  Philadelphia  from  $3  to  $6  per 
week,  averaging  about  $4.50,  while  men  receive  from  $6  to 
$12  per  week,  averaging  $9. 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  59 

According  to  the  ''Wages  of  Farm  Labor  in  the  United 
States,"  Bulletin  No.  26,  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture, 
Negro  labor  in  ordinary  times  in  Pennsylvania,  received  in 
1902,  92  cents  per  day  with  board,  or  $1.30  per  day  without 
board,  while  in  Virginia  the  same  labor  received  56  cents 
and  76  cents  respectively;  in  North  Carolina,  49  cents  and 
62  cents.  If  hired  by  the  year  the  Negro  farm  labor  in 
Pennsylvania  received  $14.31  with  board,  or  $24.29  with- 
out board,  per  month,  while  in  the  South  the  wages  are  as 
low  as  $7.61  with  board  and  $10.79  without  board,  less  than 
half  what  is  paid  Negroes  in  Pennsylvania. 

According  to  the  testimony  before  the  Industrial  Com- 
mission, many  Negroes  have  migrated  from  Prince  George 
County,  Maryland,  for  shorter  hours  and  larger  pay.  Many 
of  these  came  to  Pennsylvania.  Many  thousands  of  Ne- 
groes have  been  brought  to  Pennsylvania  by  the  employ- 
ment agencies. 

One  Philadelphia  agent  claimed  to  have  given  posi- 
tions to  more  than  15,000  Southern  girls  and  women  dur- 
ing the  past  eighteen  years.  Some  of  the  new  industrial 
opportunities  have  been  the  asphalt  paving  in  Philadelphia, 
Pittsburg  and  other  cities,  which  is  done  largely  by  Ne- 
groes from  the  South.  The  filter  plant  in  Philadelphia,  the 
Subway  in  the  same  city,  have  employed  thousands  of  Ne- 
groes, more  or  less  regularly,  and  at  better  wages  than  they 
could  have  gotten  at  home.  Street  railways,  railroads  and 
steel  works,  the  coal  mines,  needing  sturdy,  rough  workers 
have  brought  many.  Such  companies  as  the  Midvale  Steel 
Company,  the  United  States  Steel  Corporation,  and  other 
great  industrial  plants,  employ  hundreds  of  Negroes,  most 
of  whom  are  immigrants  from  the  South.  Domestic  ser- 
vice is  the  chief  inducement  for  women,  and  brings  not  a 


60  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

few  men.  The  brilliancy  of  the  city,  the  desire  for  excite- 
ment; for  fine  clothes  and  unrestrained  amusement,  un- 
doubtedly bring  many,  but  there  are  comparatively  few  who 
are  not  attracted  by  the  prospect  of  a  better  social  situation, 
and  increased  earnings,  and  freer  self-expression. 

Many  Negroes  have  come  away  from  their  homes  in 
the  South  because  of  the  fear  of  mob  violence.  While  this 
has  not  been  by  any  means  the  chief  cause  of  emigration, 
yet  a  sufficient  number  have  come  to  warrant  attention  be- 
ing paid  to  this  factor.  This  is  especially  important  be- 
cause some  of  the  Negroes  driven  North  by  this  cause,  are 
rather  above  than  below  the  average.  Perhaps  no  instance 
of  race  conflict  in  the  South  has  had  more  effect  upon  the 
Negroes  in  Pennsylvania,  than  the  riot  at  Wilmington, 
North  Carolina,  which  occurred  during  August,  1898.  The 
occasion  for  the  riot  was  an  editorial  or  series  of  editorials 
in  the  Record,  a  Negro  daily  paper  in  Wilmington,  ac- 
cusing white  men  of  greater  immorality  than  Negro  men 
are  guilty  of.  This  was  sufficient  to  stir  the  anger  of  the 
whites.  The  editor  was  seized  and  beaten  and  would  have 
been  killed  had  he  not  left  the  city.  His  property  was  de- 
stroyed and  the  building  burned  to  the  ground.  His  as- 
sistant editor  and  business  manager,  traveling  agent,  fore- 
man and  general  manager  were  also  sent  away.  As  a  re- 
sult of  this  riot  which  came  just  at  the  time  when  the  politi- 
cal fight  against  Negro  enfranchisement  was  bitterest  in 
North  Carolina,  hundreds  of  Negroes  left  the  city  of  Wil- 
mington and  country  round  about,  and  scattered  themselves 
through  the  North.  To  Pennsylvania  a  large  number  of 
them  came,  and  there  are  possibly  a  thousand  of  them  in 
the  State  to-day.  The  editor  himself  became  a  janitor  in 
Philadelphia. 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  61 

As  a  result  of  the  friction  of  race,  another  immigrant 
was  a  former  member  of  Congress  from  North  Carolina. 
The  Atlanta,  Georgia,  riot  of  1906,  caused  many  Negroes 
to  come  North,  some  of  whom  stopped  in  Philadelphia. 
As  in  the  case  of  the  editor  from  North  Carolina,  so  the 
editor  of  "The  Voice  of  the  Negro,"  then  the  most  widely 
circulated  Negro  magazine  in  the  country,  was  forced  to 
leave  Atlanta,  Georgia,  and  give  up  his  business.  He  is 
now  in  Philadelphia,  an  exile  from  home,  and  his  magazine 
has  been  crushed. 

The  major  portion  of  Pennsylvania's  Negroes  are  im- 
migrants from  other  States.  The  census  gives  the  birth- 
place of  Negroes  living  in  the  different  States;  and  from 
this  it  is  possible  to  find  the  birthplace  of  the  Negroes  who 
help  to  make  up  the  Pennsylvania  population.  The  census 
also  enables  us  to  find  the  place  of  residence  of  the  Negroes 
who  were  born  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  thus  to  show 
the  immigration  and  the  emigration.  According  to  the 
census  of  1900,  there  were  85,014  Negroes  living  in  the 
United  States  who  were  born  in  Pennsylvania.  Of  these, 
70,365  still  live  in  the  State,  while  14,649  had  moved  out  of 
the  State  and  lived  in  other  parts  of  the  country.  There 
were  but  few  Negroes  who  were  born  in  other  Northern 
States  who  had  immigrated  to  Pennsylvania.  On  the  other 
hand,  there  has  been  considerable  emigration  to  other 
Northern  States.  Pennsylvania  has  given  more  liberally 
of  her  Negro  population  to  the  New  England  and  Middle 
Atlantic  States,  than  she  has  received  from  them,  althouprh 
the  excess  is  small,  the  largest  being  onlv  1297  for  New 
Jersey.  On  the  other  hand,  there  has  been  comparatively 
De  awa'j  • '''^'"    '"   '^"   ^'^'"'^'    '"'^P'^"^   ^^^^^^-"^    and 


62  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

Virginia  has  given  to  Pennsylvania  more  than  ninety 
times  as  many  Negroes  as  it  has  received  from  this  State; 
Pennsylvania  received  from  Virginia  40,870  immigrant  Ne- 
groes and  gave  848;  from  North  Carolina,  5206  and  gave 
137;  from  South  Carolina,  1009  and  gave  32.  The  stream 
of  migration  to-day  has  kept  up  steadily.  During  the  year 
1906,  the  Philadelphia  Association  for  the  Protection  of 
Colored  Women  reported  more  than  1600  cases  of  women 
met  at  the  docks.  Most  of  them  came  by  boat  and  were 
probably  of  the  poorer  class.  Perhaps  a .  larger  number 
came  by  rail.  Of  those  reported  by  the  association  above 
referred  to,  757  came  from  Virginia,  598  from  Maryland,  30 
from  the  District  of  Columbia,  46  from  Pennsylvania,  2 
from  New  Jersey,  5  from  New  York,  2  from  South  Caro- 
lina, 6  from  Jamaica,  2  from  Colorado. 

The  population  of  Pennsylvania  is  thus  kept  up  by 
immigration  chiefly  from  the  South.  This  is  not  wholly 
abnormal  considering  the  fact  that  the  Negro  population 
of  Pennsylvania  is  chiefly  and  increasingly  urban;  for  not 
only  in  the  case  of  Negroes  but  in  the  case  of  the  whites  as 
well,  it  is  a  question  if  our  large  cities  are  increasing  in 
population  by  natural  growth,  exclusive  of  immigration. 

The  Negro  population  in  Pennsylvania  in  1900,  was 
76.7  per  cent,  urban  and  23.3  per  cent,  rural ;  120,285  of  the 
156,845  Negroes  of  the  state  lived  in  cities  of  at  least  100,- 
000  inhabitants;  15,004,  in  cities  of  between  25,000  and  100,- 
000  inhabitants;  10,184  in  cities  of  between  8,000  and  25,- 
000;  7,155  in  cities  of  from  4.000  to  8,000;  and  4,453  ^^  cities 
from  2,500  to  4,000  inhabitants.  A  much  larger  percentage 
of  the  Negroes  than  of  the  whites  live  in  cities  of  Penn- 
sylvania. The  following  table  will  show  the  percentage  of 
Negro  population  in  cities  of  different  sizes  at  the  last 
three  censuses: 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  63 

PER  CENT.  OF  NEGRO  POPULATION  IN  CITIES  OF  DIF- 
FERENT SIZES,  1880,  1890,  1900. 

Negro  Population 

Cities  of  at  least  100,000  inhabitants.  1880.  1890.  1900. 

At  least  100,000  41.8  46.2  53.2 

25,000  to  100,000 7.2  6.9  9.6 

8,000  to  25,000  6.6  8.0  6.5 

4,000  to  8,000 6.3  7.4  4.6 

2,500  to  4,000 3.0  2.8 

At  least  4,000 61.9  68.5  73.9 

At  least  2,500 71.5  76.7 

Country    38.1  28.5  23.3 

The  Negro  city  population  has  been  steadily  increas- 
ing; while  the  rural  population  has  actually  decreased, 
there  being  10,000  less  Negroes  in  rural  districts  than  in 
i860. 

Forty  years  ago  there  were  less  Negroes  in  the  large 
cities,  largely  because  there  were  fewer  large  cities.  In 
i860  five  cities  in  the  state  had  100,000  or  more  inhabi- 
tants: viz.:  Allegheny,  Harrisburg,  Philadelphia  and  Read- 
ing, having  a  total  population  of  680,011,  of  whom  25,835 
were  Negroes.  At  the  same  time,  only  one  city  had  as 
many  as  10,000  Negroes;  two  cities  having  between  1,000 
and  10,000  and  only  eight  places  in  the  state  contained  more 
than  five  hundred  Negroes.  They  were  as  follows:  Alle- 
gheny, 690  Negroes;  Pittsburg,  1,154;  West  Chester,  561; 
Carlisle,  509;  Harrisburg,  1,321;  Chambersburg,  524;  Co- 
lumbia, 648;  and  Philadelphia,  22,185.  In  1900  there  were 
forty-three  places  in  the  state  which  had  five  hundred  or 
more  Negroes. 

While  the  total  Negro  population  of  the  cities  has 
grown  much  more  rapidly  than  the  white  population  in 
the  past  forty  years,  it  has  not  spread  over  so  many  com- 
munities as  the  white  population.     More  than  half  of  the 


64  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

Negroes  of  the  state  are  in  Philadelphia  and  Pittsburg, 
while  these  cities  contain  only  a  fourth  of  the  total  popu- 
lation. Excepting  Pittsburg  and  Philadelphia,  the  Negro 
population  is  scattered  over  the  state  in  small  aggrega- 
tions, chiefly  in  the  southern  and  eastern  sections. 

Philadelphia  increased  during  the  forty  years  from 
22,185  to  62,613  or  182  per  cent.;  Pittsburg  increased  from 
1,154  to  17,040,  which  is  more  than  1,372  per  cent.;  Harris- 
burg  increased  211  per  cent. ;  Allegheny,  379  per  cent. ;  Ches- 
ter City  had  417  Negroes  in  i860  and  West  Chester  had 
561.  In  1900,  Chester's  Negro  population  had  increased  to 
4,403,  or  950  per  cent. ;  and  that  of  West  Chester  to  1,777, 
or  247  per  cent,  during  forty  years.  Some  few  communities 
had  made  but  slight  increase.  Carlisle,  York  and  Wash- 
ington just  a  little  more  than  doubled  their  Negro  popula- 
tion, while  Norristown  and  Reading  lacked  a  little  of 
doubling  theirs.  Chambersburg's  Negro  population  in- 
creased less  than  fifty  per  cent,  and  that  of  Columbia  actu- 
ally decreased  thirty-five  per  cent.  Some  towns  which  in 
i860  had  no  Negroes  whatever  or  a  very  few  had  a  con- 
siderable Negro  population  in  1900;  Scranton  had  only  one 
Negro  in  i860,  but  521  in  1900.  No  Negroes  were  returned 
in  i860  for  Braddock.  Lancaster  had  29  in  i860,  and  y// 
in  1900.  For  Homestead,  McKeesport,  Steelton,  Union- 
town,  Wilkes-Barre  or  Williamsport,  no  Negroes  are  re- 
turned in  i860,  while  in  1900,  two  of  these  cities,  Williams- 
port  and  Steelton,  had  more  than  1,000  Negroes,  and  each 
of  the  others  more  than  500  Negroes. 

Within  the  cities  the  Negroes  are  more  or  less  segre- 
gated. In  Philadelphia,  the  largest  groups  of  Negroes  are 
in  the  7th  and  30th  wards,  which  contained  in  1900  10,462 
and  5,242  Negroes  respectively.  The  segregated  commu- 
nities were  formed  naturally ;   the  first  Negroes  who   set- 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  65 

tied  for  themselves  settled  in  the  places  which  they  could 
secure  employment.  Others  moved  near  them  and  so 
on,  until  there  was  a  so-called  settlement  of  Negroes.  Race 
feeling,  common  interests,  common  bearing  of  racial  prej- 
udice, were  among  the  things  which  tended  to  keep  the 
Negroes  together.  But  the  home-owning  and  the  more 
prosperous  Negroes  are,  as  a  rule,  moving  out  of  the  dis- 
tinctively Negro  neighborhood.  In  Philadelphia,  west  of 
15th  street  and  south  of  Bainbridge,  in  Elmwood  and  Ger- 
mantown,  a  large  number  of  the  better  class  of  Negroes 
have  settled  within  the  past  ten  years.  The  largest  num- 
ber of  home-owners  is  outside  of  the  most  densely  settled 
Negro  neighborhoods.  All  except  one  of  the  large  churches 
have  moved  from  what  was  once  the  largest  Negro  dis- 
trict, but  which  is  now  chiefly  inhabited  by  foreigners.  The 
only  one  of  the  old  churches  which  holds  its  original  posi- 
tion is  Bethel,  A.  M.  E.  Church,  which  is  now  entirely  sur- 
rounded by  Jews. 

In   the   various   cities   the   Negro   population    is   fairly 
well  distributed.    There  are  wards  which  have  a  large  pro- 
portion of  Negroes,  but  in  no  city  is  there  a  ward  which 
is  composed  principally  of  Negroes.     Often,  however,  the 
'  Negro  population  is  cut  into  by  a  ward  line,  and  the  segre- 
gation does  not  appear  as  much  as  it  really  is.     In  Phila- 
delphia, the  second,  third,  fourth,  fifth,  seventh,  eighth  and 
i  thirtieth    wards    are    contiguous    and    form    the  largest  Ne- 
'  gro  settlement.     In  this  district  there  were  25,317  Negroes 
in  1900.     This  district  includes  a  part  of  the  central  busi- 
ness district  of  the  city.     The  next  largest  district  includes 
contiguous  portions  of  the  fourteenth,  fifteenth,  twentieth 
and  twenty-ninth  wards,  which  in  1900  had  a  population  of 
10,365  Negroes.    There  are  other  smaller  districts  included, 
principally  within  a  single  ward.     It  is  worthy  of  notice 
5 


66  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

that  in  none  of  these  wards  do  the  Negroes  comprise  a 
majority  of  the  population.  The  seventh  ward  had  10,462 
Negroes  in  1900,  but  also  28,137  whites;  the  other  wards 
had  a  larger  proportion  of  whites. 

But  one  can  get  a  very  hazy  idea  of  the  segregation 
of  Negroes  if  he  depends  upon  the  figures  given  by  the 
wards  as  HoflFman  does  in  his  treatise  on  the  Negro.  For 
in  wards  the  distribution  of  the  Negro  population  is  often 
very  regular.  In  the  eighth  ward  in  Philadelphia,  one  of 
the  richest  resident  wards  of  the  city,  the  whites  are  gen- 
erally in  the  western  part  and  the  Negroes  in  the  eastern. 
This  eastern  section  is  generally  referred  to  as  the  Negro 
section,  yet  Negroes  are  in  a  minority,  and  there  are  only 
three  of  the  seventeen  voting  divisions  where  the  Negro 
vote  is  larger  than  the  white  vote.  In  the  seventh  ward, 
the  Negroes  are  more  generally  distributed,  but  by  no 
means  evenly  so.  In  1906,  there  were  2,687  Negro  voters 
in  this  ward,  an  average  of  about  one  hundred  voters  to  a 
political  precinct.  But  in  eleven  of  the  twenty-seven  divi- 
sions the  number  of  Negroes  who  vote  was  below  the  aver- 
age, and  in  nine  of  these  there  were  less  than  fifty  Negro 
voters.  All  of  which  goes  to  show  that  although  the 
seventh  ward  has  the  largest  population  of  Negroes,  it  is 
not  necessarily  a  ''Negro  ward." 

The  extent  of  the  segregation  of  the  Negro  population 
cannot  be  shown  by  wards,  but  is  as  to  streets  or  parts 
of  streets.  For  example,  the  Negro  population  is  densest 
in  Philadelphia  on  Lombard  and  South  streets,  from 
Seventh  to  Twenty-third,  and  on  the  cross  streets  between 
these  two;  in  Pittsburg,  on  Wylie  Avenue,  Webster  street 
and  Bedford  Avenue,  from  Washington  to  Herron  Avenue, 
and  in  Harrisburg,  the  neighborhood  of  South  and  Short 
streets.      These    are    rightly     called     Negro    settlements. 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  67 

Throughout  the  larger  cities  there  are  often  found  from 
half  a  dozen  to  a  score  of  Negro  families  in  one  block,  or 
on  adjacent  streets,  while  there  are  many  blocks  in  the 
neighborhood  in  which  no  Negroes  live.   . 

This  partial  segregation  of  Negroes  is  not,  however,  a 
thing  peculiar  to  them.  On  the  one  hand,  they  live  in 
nearly  every  ward  in  the  cities  above  named  and  in  no  one 
do  they  constitute  a  majority,  though  probably  the  next 
census  will  give  the  Negroes  a  majority  in  the  seventh 
ward  in  Philadelphia. 

They  are  not  more  segregated  than  the  Jews,  and  the 
Italians  in  Philadelphia.  On  the  other  hand,  it  seems  to 
be  the  tendency  for  the  incoming  Negroes  to  settle  in  those 
parts  of  the  city  where  the  older  members  of  the  race  have 
already  settled.  This  tendency  has  been  aided  much  by 
the  real  estate  and  renting  agents  who  find  that  whites  do 
not  care  to  live  next  door  to  Negroes,  as  a  rule,  just  as 
native  Americans  do  not  like  to  live  next  door  to  Italians, 
or  Jews,  or  Slavs.  There  is  no  evidence  that  the  Negro 
will  spread  over  a  greater  area  of  the  cities,  but  at  the  same 
time,  the  Negro  districts  will  continue  to  grow. 

The  largest  section  in  which  the  race  is  said  to  be 
segregated  is,  however,  more  characteristic  of  poverty  than 
of  race.  Negroes  and  Jews;  Irish  and  Italians;  and  other 
classes  composing  a  large  proportion  of  the  poor,  live  more 
or  less  together.  In  Philadelphia,  the  real  poverty  quarter, 
so  far  as  the  Negroes  are  concerned,  is  really  from  Front 
street  to  i6th  street  and  west ;  from  Pine  to  Fitzwater.  But 
only  the  eastern  part  of  this  was  included  in  the  "Slums" 
in  the  Seventh  Special  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  La- 
bor. The  slum  district  of  Philadelphia  was,  according  to 
this  report  on  the  ''Slums  of  the  Great  Cities,"  in  1894,  as 
follows : 


68  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

Philadelphia.— (i) 

Starting  from  the  corner  of  Front  and  South  streets, 
along  South  to  Fourth,  along  Fourth  to  Bainbridge,  along 
Bainbridge  to  Front  and  along  South  to  Ronaldson,  along 
Ronaldson  to  Bainbridge,  along  Bainbridge  to  Eighth, 
along  Eighth  to  Fitzwater,  along  Fitzwater  to  Fallon,  along 
Fallon  to  Christian,  along  Christian  to  Eighth,  along  Eighth 
to  Marriott,  along  Marriott  to  Fifth,  along  Fifth  to  German, 
along  German  to  Passyunk  Avenue,  along  Passyunk  Ave- 
nue to  Bainbridge,  along  Bainbridge  to  Fifth  and  along 
Fifth  to  South. 

In  this  slum  district  of  Philadelphia  were  17,060  per- 
sons, as  follows :  16,612  whites  or  97.38  per  cent. ;  348  blacks 
or  2.04  per  cent. ;  84  mulattoes,  quadroons  and  octoroons,  or 
0.40  per  cent. ;  and  16  Chinese,  or  0.09  per  cent.  The  great 
majority  of  the  Negroes  of  Philadelphia  do  not  live  in  the 
typical  slum  district,  notwithstanding  Negroes  in  a  measure 
are  segregated  and  many  of  them  do  live  in  the  slums.  As 
a  rule  in  these  slums,  the  Negroes  do  not  live  in  the  worst 
sections.  Gradually  they  have  moved  from  the  lower  east- 
ern side  further  toward  the  banks  of  the  Schuylkill  River 
and  many  hundreds  of  them  to-day  occupy  houses  which  a 
few  years  back  were  occupied  by  well-to-do  whites.  Many 
of  these  houses  are  old  and  old-fashioned  but  most  of  them 
are  better  than  those  in  which  the  Negroes  formerly  lived. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  houses  nearer  the  Delaware,  about 
Fourth,  Fifth,  Sixth,  Seventh,  and  Spruce,  Pine,  Lombard, 
South  and  the  smaller  streets  and  courts  and  alleys,  in 
which  the  generations  of  Negroes  before  the  war,  and  the 
first  generation  after  the  war  lived,  have  been  taken  by 
the  Italians  and  Jews,  who  therefore,  live  in  the  main,  under 
worse  conditions  than  the  blacks  now  live.  The  same  is 
practically  true  in  Pittsburg. 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  69 

There  is  also  a  peculiar  kind  of  segregation  in  blocks 
where  the  better-to-do  classes  live.  For  many  years  the 
Negroes  have  been  a  servant  class,  and  have  lived  in  the 
houses  of  the  employers  or  very  close  to  them.  So,  in  Phila- 
delphia to-day,  v^hile  on  Spruce  street  and  Walnut  street, 
many  of  the  wealthiest  Philadelphians  live,  just  behind 
them  the  Negroes  are  on  Pine,  Addison  and  Lombard 
streets  in  parallel  lines.  In  West  Philadelphia,  the  well- 
to-do  whites  live  on  Walnut  and  Chestnut  streets,  the  Ne- 
groes live  on  the  small  streets  just  behind  them.  Some- 
times the  Negroes  are  completely  surrounded  by  the  whites 
as  in  the  Eighth  ward,  where  the  whites  live  on  the  wide 
outside  streets  and  Negroes  on  the  smaller  inside  streets. 

The  Negro  rural  districts :  The  rural  population  of 
Pennsylvania  in  1900  was  2,315,932  or  36.7  per  cent,  of  the 
whole.  The  rural  population  of  Negroes  was  26.1  per  cent, 
as  against  38.1  per  cent,  twenty  years  before.  In  some  of 
the  counties,  especially  those  where  there  is  no  large  city, 
such  as  Clarion,  Cumberland,  Franklin,  the  Negro  popu- 
lation is  falling  off. 

In  more  than  half  the  counties  of  the  state,  the  Negro 
population  has  fallen  off  in  the  last  twenty  years,  and 
the  increase  of  the  population  has  been  mainly  in  the  cities. 
In  many  places  where  Negroes  were  settled  on  farms  be- 
fore the  war,  there  has  either  been  a  large  death  rate  or 
heavy  immigration  to  the  cities.  Columbia  county  was 
one  of  the  counties  in  which  many  Negroes  were  largely 
settled  before  the  war.  In  1900,  there  were  only  125  Ne- 
groes in  the  county.  Negroes  who  formerly  owned  farms 
have  given  them  up  to  move  to  the  city. 

As  to  sex,  there  is  in  this  state  an  excess  of  Negro 
males  over  Negro  females.  There  were  in  1900,  79,384  Ne- 
gro males  and  77,497  Negro  females  in  the  state,  or  a  pro- 


10  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

portion  of  977  females  to  1000  males.  The  excess  of  males 
in  Pennsylvania  is  in  accord  with  the  condition  of  the 
country  at  large.  In  Philadelphia  there  is  an  excess  of 
females ;  in  Pittsburg  of  males,  due  chiefly  to  the  eco- 
nomic opportunities  of  the  sexes  in  the  two  cities. 

OCCUPATIONS  OF  NEGROES. 


What  is  the  status  of  the  Negro  laborer  in  the  North  in 
general,  and  in  Pennsylvania  in  particular?  Upon  the  answer 
to  this  question  depends  very  largely  the  view  we  shall  be 
forced  to  take  as  to  whether  or  not  the  Negro  will  be  able  to 
survive  the  competition  of  free  labor.  The  North  is  the 
severest  testing  place  for  the  Negro,  not  simply  because  of 
its  climate  but  also  because  of  its  labor  traditions  and  organ- 
izations. In  the  South,  the  Negroes  have  had  a  practical 
monopoly  of  certain  forms  of  labor,  but  in  the  North  they 
find  the  field  already  occupied  by  the  world's  best  and  most 
aggressive  workmen ;  they  find  higher  standards  in  nearly 
all  lines  of  work  and  tremendous  organizations  for  the  pur- 
pose of  reducing  competition  and  controlling  workmen  and 
apprentices. 

Slavery,  no  matter  what  its  industrial  benefits  were,  did 
not  demand  of  its  workmen  accuracy  of  detail  and  quickness 
in  execution ;  nor  did  it  cultivate  that  creative  imagination  so 
necessary  in  highly  organized  communities  for  successful  com- 
petition. It  left  the  laborers  ilHterate,  largely  dependent,  and 
shiftless,  except  under  outside  pressure.  It  was  therefore,  to 
be  expected  that  such  a  class  of  laborers  would  be  found  among 
the  least  efficient  of  a  country's  workingmen.    If  in  the  North 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  11 

any  of  them  or  their  children  have  been  able  to  rise  to  skill 
and  self-direction;  to  success  as  business  men,  professional 
men,  skilled  artisans,  organizers  and  promoters,  this,  of  it- 
self is  a  hopeful  omen  for  the  industrial  future  of  the  race. 

The  Negroes  are  truly  a  working  people.  Of  the  en- 
tire 8,833,994  Negroes  in  the  country,  3,992,337  were  engaged 
in  gainful  occupationsin  1900 ;  that  is,  452  out  of  every  1,000. 
Of  the  6.415,581  Negroes  ten  years  of  age  or  more,  622  out 
of  every  1,000  were  gainful  workers.  On  the  other  hand, 
373  of  every  1,000  whites  in  the  country,  and  486  of  every 
1,000  whites  ten  years  of  age  and  older,  were  engaged  in 
gainful  occupations.  Though  the  Negroes  compose  but  11.4 
per  cent,  of  the  country's  entire  population,  they  are  13.7  per 
cent,  of  its  entire  working  force. 

In  the  country  at  large  a  greater  percent  of  Negro  males 
than  white  males,  are  engaged  in  gainful  occupations  in  every 
age  period,  except  from  25  to  44.  For  the  period  from  10  to 
15  years  more  than  twice  as  many  Negro  children  are  at  work 
proportionately  as  whites.  Among  the  females  there  is  a 
very  striking  contrast,  proportionately  two  and  a  half  times 
as  many  Negro  females  being  in  gainful  occupations  as  white 
females.  Of  female  children  more  than  four  times  as  many 
Negroes  as  whites  proportionately  are  engaged  in  gainful  oc- 
cupations, and  about  the  same  proportion  holds  good  for  the 
females  between  55  and  65  years  of  age,  and  for  65  years  and 
over. 

Negro  workers  in  Pennsylvania :  According  to  the  census 
of  1900,  there  were  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  4,885,479 
persons  of  ten  years  of  age  and  over.  Of  these  2,448,589  or 
50.1  per  cent,  were  engaged  in  gainful  occupations.  The  Ne- 
groes of  Pennsylvania,  as  the  Negroes  of  the  country  at  large, 
furnish  a  larger  proportion  of  workers  than  their  number 
would  indicate;  for  while  they  are  only  2.5  per  cent,  of  Penrt- 


12  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania  I 

sylvania's  total  population,  they  were  3.3  per  cent,  of  the  total 
gainful  workers  in  this  State. 

According  to  the  census  in  1900,  80,429  Negroes  who 
were  engaged  in  gainful  occupations  in  the  State  of  Pennsyl- 
vania were  distributed  by  sex  as  follows: 

TABLE  FROM  THE  CENSUS  OF  1900.  | 


Males 

Females 

Total 

Occupations.       No. 

% 

No. 

% 

No. 

% 

Agricultural 

pursuits    ..   3,656 
Professional 

6.6 

40 

0.2 

3,696 

4.6 

service    . .  .      936 
Domestic  and 

1.6 

276 

I.I 

1,212 

1.5 

personal 

service    .  .  .33P30 
Trade  &  trans- 

59-2 

22,830 

92.7 

55,860 

69.4 

portation    .   9,033 
Mfg.  &  mech. 

16.2 

201 

.8 

9,234 

11.6 

pursuits    .  .   9,150 

16.4 

1,277 

5.2 

10,427 

12.9 

Total    ..55,805       loo.o    24,624       loo.o    80,429       loo.o 

Ninety-three  out  of  every  hundred  females,  and  fifty-nine 
out  of  every  hundred  Negro  males  of  the  State  are  in  domestic 
and  personal  service.  Among  the  occupations  most  largely 
followed  by  Negro  unskilled  laborers  who  comprise  65  per 
cent,  of  this  entire  group,  are  servants  and  waiters,  barbers, 
and  janitors.  These  four  classes  of  labor  comprise  more  than 
96  per  cent,  of  all  the  Negro  domestic  and  personal  service 
workers.  While  most  of  this  service  is  unskilled  an  increas- 
ing amount  of  skill  is  being  required ;  and  in  some  cases,  an 
apprenticeship  must  be  served,  as  in  the  case  of  barbers, 
cooks,  nurses,  stewards.  Some,  however,  require  capital, 
and  though  the  service  is  personal,  often  a  lucrative  busi- 
ness is  conducted,  as  in  the  case  of  barbers,  caterers,  hotel 
and  boarding  house  keepers,  restaurant  and  saloon  keepers. 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  13 

The  specific  occupations  chiefly  followed  by  Negro  females 
are  those  of  servants,  waiters,  laundresses  and  house-keep- 
ers. These  comprise  more  than  93  per  cent,  of  the  whole 
body  of  Negro  females  in  domestic  and  personal  service. 
Servants  and  waitresses  alone  are  78  per  cent,  of  the  total. 
Domestic  service  is  occupied  largely  by  the  newcomers 
from  the  South.  What  is  true  of  domestic  service,  common- 
ly so  called,  is  true  of  common  unskilled  labor.  There  are 
more  than  forty  employment  agencies  in  Philadelphia, 
which  make  a  specialty  of  supplying  Negro  domestic  ser- 
vants, some  of  them  having  representatives  in  the  South- 
ern cities  and  towns  who  secure  women  and  men  of  all 
descriptions  and  send  them  to  the  North.  These  agencies 
supply  the  city  and  the  surrounding  country  with  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  servants.  Most  of  these  agencies  agree  that 
the  vast  majority  of  the  people  whom  they  supply  are  immi- 
grant Negroes;  that  the  native  Negroes  do  not  care  to  work 
in  domestic  service;  and  also  that  the  average  house-holder 
prefers  a  Southern  Negro,  because  she  is  cheaper  and  more 
docile.  The  twelve  per  cent,  of  native  Negroes  who  are  in 
domestic  service  are  generally  in  a  higher  grade  of  service  than 
the  immigrant  Negro. 

There  are  many  kinds  of  this  service  in  which  a  high 
grade  of  intelligence  is  needed.  Several  Negroes  in  the  State 
have  invented  and  patented  devices  for  improving  the  labor 
of  the  household  worker.  A  young  Philadelphian,  named 
Booker,  has  taken  the  lead  in  this,  having  invented  and  patent- 
ed a  dish  washer  which  has  an  extensive  sale;  also  devices  for 
cleaning  windows  and  scrubbing  floors.  He  has  organized 
a  cleaning  company,  which  employs  from  ten  to  fifteen  per- 
sons regularly  cleaning  windows,  marble  fronts,  etc.  Another 
Negro,  George  Frank  Hall,  has  invented  and  patented  what 
he  calls  the  "Kitchen   King,"  combining  in  a  single  utensil 


74  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

the  functions  of  the  whip  and  bowl,  puree  brush,  sieve  and 
potato  masher.  Among  other  devices  invented  by  Negroes  in 
Pennsylvania  for  domestic  service  are  an  apple  and  potato 
parer,  and  a  refrigerator  by  Alfred  Cornell,  a  caterer;  a  device 
for  keeping  fumes  of  a  cooking  stove  from  spreading  over 
the  kitchen,  by  P.  C.  Slowe. 

There  has  been  but  little  attempt  to  train  Negro  servants. 
The  oldest  institution  doing  work  of  any  kind  in  this  line  is 
Avery  Institute,  of  Allegheny,  which  reaches  a  very  few  per- 
sons. Some  sporadic  work  is  done  by  organizations  of  women 
but  there  is  nothing  effective  in  the  State.  The  Association 
for  the  Protection  of  Colored  Women,  in  Philadelphia,  started 
in  1905,  and  the  Home  for  Working  Women,  in  Pittsburg, 
reach  a  few  servants,  but  because  of  the  very  limited  resources 
they  are  able  to  do  but  little  in  the  way  of  effective  training 
of  household  workers.  They  do  more  on  the  moral  and  social 
sides  than  on  the  educational  and  economic  sides.  In  moj;e 
skilled  grades  of  domestic  or  personal  service,  such  as  cater- 
ing, barbering  and  hair-dressing,  there  is  some  training  given 
to  apprentices  in  slTops  and  private  businesses  conducted  by 
members  of  the  race. 

Since  the  Civil  War  there  have  been  many  changes  in 
the  relation  of  the  Negro  to  domestic  service.  Time  was  when 
the  most  lucrative  occupations  open  to  Negroes  were  in  domes- 
tic service,  in  which  were  most  of  the  best  Negroes  in  the 
State.  With  enlarging  opportunities  this  is  no  longer  true. 
The  Negroes  of  best  training  and  circumstances  are  going 
into  this  kind  of  service  to  a  much  less  extent  than  formerly. 
Many  of  the  sons  and  daughters  of  those  who  held  most 
prominent  places  as  domestic  servants  are  now  in  business 
or  in  professions.  The  native  born  Negroes  of  Philadelphia 
comprise  about  37  per  cent,  of  the  total  Negro  population, 
while  they  are  only  about   12   per   cent,  of  Negro  domestic 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  75 

servants.  The  first  Negro  lawyer  of  Philadelphia  is  the  son 
of  a  successful  Negro  caterer,  and  his  son  is  a  successful 
physician,  and  one  of  the  largest  property  holders  among 
Negroes  in  the  State.  The  son  of  another  caterer  is  a  suc- 
cessful physician,  and  a  daughter  of  a  barber  has  won  more 
than  a  local  reputation  as  an  artist,  having  studied  several 
years  in  Paris.  Her  design  of  the  Negro  historical  group 
for  the  Jamestown  Exposition  attracted  wide  attention  and 
won  for  her  a  medal  of  honor. 

The  economic  changes  during  the  past  generation  have 
brought  new  opportunities  to  the  Negroes  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  have  helped  to  raise  many  of  them  from  domestic  ser- 
vice, which  has  caused  an  apparent  loss  in  this  field.  In  the 
barber's  trade  it  is  often  asserted  that  the  Negro  has  lost 
ground.  This  is  true  if  it  means  that  they  have  lost  proportion- 
ately ;  for  there  are  proportionately  fewer  Negro  barbers  than 
formerly.  In  no  large  cities  do  Negroes  have  a  monopoly  of 
this  trade.  There  has  been  no  absolute  loss  in  numbers  how- 
ever, but  rather  a  gain.  There  is  now  a  greater  demand  for 
Negro  barbers  than  existed  a  generation  ago.  Shaving  and 
hair-cutting  are  now  a  necessity  even  to  many  laborers,  as 
well  as  to  the  business  and  professional  men.  That  being  the 
case,  a  great  many  more  persons  are  needed  in  the  barbers' 
trade  which  is  made  a  business,  that  whites  as  well  as  Ne- 
groes have  entered.  To-day  Negroes  have  a  monopoly  of  the 
Negro  trade,  which  alone  supports  in  the  State  more  than  one 
hundred  and  fifty  shops,  which  is  probably  larger  than  the 
whole  number  of  shops  conducted  by  Negroes  before  the 
war.  Negroes  also  have  a  fair  proportion  of  the  patronage 
of  whites.  In  nearly  every  large  city  in  the  State  there  are 
first-class  shops  conducted  by  Negroes  exclusively  for  whites. 
In  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Station,  at  both  Philadelphia 
and  Pittsburg,  there  are  Negro  barbers.    The  rise  in  the  stan- 


76  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

dard  of  the  barbers'  trade  has  been  great  within  forty  years. 
To  enter  the  business  now  requires  more  than  mere  knowledge 
of  the  art  of  shaving  and  hair-cutting.  Much  capital  can  be 
invested  in  the  business.  There  has  also  been  large  improve- 
ment in  the  sanitary  standards. 

What  is  true  of  barbers  is  true  of  caterers.  When  cater- 
ing was  merely  a  species  of  house  service,  the  competition  with 
whites  was  not  great.  The  caterer  was  the  cook  and  butler  to 
the  fashionables,  and  largely  had  the  monopoly  of  a  trade, 
which  others  did  not  very  greatly  desire.  But  to-day,  catering 
is  not  house  service  in  the  common  sense;  it  is  a  business 
which  requires  not  only  skill  and  capital  but  business  ability 
and  connections.  The  great  cook  is  not  the  caterer  of  today, 
but  he  may  be  hired  by  the  monied  man  who  knows  how  to 
organize  and  advertise  a  catering  business.  Thus  Negroes 
have  lost  much  of  the  prestige  they  once  had  in  Philadelphia, 
but  they  do  more  catering  today  than  they  ever  did.  There 
are  more  Negro  caterers  in  this  city  than  ever  before — over 
lOO.  They  now  have  practically  the  monopoly  of  a  growing 
trade  among  Negroes  (though  not  as  exclusively  as  the  bar- 
bers), and  have  been  able  to  hold  much  of  the  other  trade. 
The  best  caterers  have  survived  the  changes  in  their  trade  and 
have  opened  business  on  a  large  scale,  as  represented  by 
Augustine  and  Baptiste,  and  John  S.  Trower,  in  Philadelphia; 
and  Spriggs  and  John  T.  Writt  &  Co.,  in  Pittsburg.  These 
men  do  a  much  larger  business  than  any  of  the  ante-bellum 
caterers  in  their  best  days.  But  they  are  less  conspicuous 
and  have  less  of  a  monopoly. 

If  it  is  true  that  the  Negroes  are  in  domestic  service 
proportionately  less  today  than  formerly,  this  is  not  a  loss 
but  a  gain  and  is  significant  of  a  wider  range  of  economic 
opportunities  for  the  race. 

The  Professions :    The  professions  may  be  classed  among 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  77 

the  new  occupations  for  Negroes.  Although  there  have  been 
individual  Negroes  in  different  professions  for  many  years, 
yet,  as  a  class,  the  Negro  professional  group  in  Pennsylvania 
is  the  growth  of  the  present  generation. 

As  to  the  particular  professions  there  were  at  the  census 
of  1900,  in  Pennsylvania,  91  actors  and  professional  show- 
men and  women;  411  clergymen;  20  dentists;  24  lawyers;  258 
musicians  and  teachers  of  music;  12  government  officers;  60 
physicians  and  surgeons;  222  teachers  and  professors  in 
schools  and  colleges;  and  114  miscellaneous  professions.  To 
every  1,000  Negroes  in  the  State  there  were  6.3  actors  and 
actresses,  26  clergymen,  1.2  dentists,  1.5  lawyers,  16.4  musi- 
cians, .8  government  officials,  3.8  physicians,   14.2  teachers. 

Excluding  the  preaching  and  teaching  professions,  the 
North  has  a  larger  actual  number  of  Negroes  engaged  in  pro- 
fessional service  than  the  South,  and  proportionately  there  is 
a  larger  number  even  of  teachers  and  clergymen  in  the  North. 
The  profession  earliest  developed  was  that  of  the  minister. 
Ministers  of  color  were  always  the  chief  preachers  to  their 
people.  The  minister  goes  back  to  Africa  and  is  the  connect- 
ing link  between  heathenism  and  Christianity.  A  hundred 
years  ago  Richard  Allen  and  Absalom  Jones  were  ordained 
ministers  in  the  Methodist  and  Episcopal  Churches  respec- 
tively in  Philadelphia. 

Some  of  the  most  intelligent  men  of  the  Negro  race  are 
to  be  found  among  its  ministers,  who  in  this  State  include 
men  who  were  trained  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
Oberlin  College,  the  University  of  Chicago,  Princeton  Uni- 
versity, Newton  Theological  Seminary y  Boston  University, 
Lincoln  University,  and  other  well  equipped  institutions. 
There  are  among  them  men  who  have  studied  abroad  at  the 
Universities  of  Berlin,  Liepzig,  Bonn,  Paris,  Cambridge  and 
Rome.     The  Theological   department   in   one   of   the  largest 


78  The  Ne&ro  In  Pennsylvania 

Negro  institutions,  Howard  University,  Washington,  D.  C.^ 
was  practically  founded  by  a  Presbyterian  minister,  the  Rev. 
J.  B.  Reeve,  now  for  nearly  fifty  years  a  pastor  in  Philadelphia. 
On  the  other  hand  the  average  intelligence  of  the  ministers 
is  somewhat  lower  than  the  average  of  any  other  of  the  so- 
called  learned  professions.  This  is  due  to  several  things. 
In  the  first  place  there  is  no  State  supervision  of  the  granting 
of  ministerial  licenses  as  there  is  in  other  professions.  The 
State  thus  permits  religious  congregations  to  call  ignorant  min- 
isters, while  it  prevents  to  some  extent  people  from  employing 
ignorant  persons  who  would  teach  or  practice  law  or  medicine. 
Thus  it  is  difficult  to  raise  the  ministry  more  rapidly  than  the 
laity.  In  the  second  place,  outside  of  a  few  large  churches, 
the  salaries  are  smaller  than  the  necessities  of  life  demand. 
Other  opportunities,  offering  larger  pecuniary  returns  and  as 
much  social  prestige,  are  being  gradually  opened  and  many 
men  of  that  best  class  that  first  entered  the  ministry  are  find- 
ing places  in  these  new  fields.  On  the  whole,  however,  the 
ministry  is  gaining  in  intelligence  and  is  said  to  be  consider- 
ably superior  to  the  ministry  of  a  generation  ago. 

The  Negro  physicians  in  the  State  now  number  about 
seventy  and  on  the  whole  are  an  intelligent  body,  representing 
the  best  elements  of  Negro  life.  As  early  as  1838,  a  Negro 
physician  and  dentist  were  reported  in  the  Register  of  Trades 
in  Philadelphia.  In  1841  several  physicians  were  reported  by 
the  author  of  the  "Sketches  of  Colored  Society."  James  Dur- 
ham, a  Pennsylvania  Negro,  was  taken  South  to  New  Orleans, 
where  he  became  very  proficient  in  medicine  in  the  eighteenth 
century.  In  Philadelphia  there  are  thirty-two  graduated  Ne- 
gro physicians,  three  of  whom  are  women.  Among  them  are 
graduates  of  the  Medical  Department  of  Howard  University, 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  Harvard  University,  Jeffer- 
son Medical  College,  Hahnemann  Medical  College,  the  Medico- 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  79 


Chirurgical  College,  Shaw  University.  Several  have  taken 
post-graduate  courses,  one  of  whom  did  so  in  the  University 
of  London.  In  1896  the  highest  general  average  ever  made 
before  the  Pennsylvania  State  Board  of  Medical  Examiners, 
was  made  by  a  Negro,  Robert  Jones  Abele,  a  native  of  Phil- 
adelphia, and  a  graduate  of  Hahnemann  Medical  College, 
Philadelphia.  In  Pittsburg  there  are  sixteen  physicians,  six 
dentists  and  two  pharmacists,  graduated  as  follows:  5  from 
the  Western  University  of  Pennsylvania,  5  from  Howard 
University,  2  from  Shaw  University,  i  from  the  Medico- 
Chirurgical  College,  Philadelphia,  i  from  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  i  from  Harvard  University.  Harrisburg 
has  5  physicians,  West  Chester  i,  Coatesville  i,  Steelton  i, 
Chester  2,  Washington  i,  and  West  Grove  2.  About  one- 
third  of  the  Negro  physicians  are  college  graduates  holding 
the  degree  of  A.B.  or  B.S.  Among  the  institutions  from 
which  they  graduated  are  Harvard,  Lincoln,  Wilberforce, 
Howard  and  Shaw  Universities.  The  oldest  physician  prac- 
ticing in  Pittsburg  is  a  native  of  that  city  and  has  been  prac- 
ticing more  than  thirty  years;  another  has  practiced  twenty 
years,  and  another  eighteen  years;  three  from  ten  to  fifteen 
years,  six  from  five  to  ten  years,  nine  under  five  years,  three 
of  whom  have  practiced  less  than  two  years.  Negro  physi- 
cians have  not  had  free  access  to  all  hospitals,  though  there 
have  been  Negroes  assisting  in  Hahnemann,  Polyclinic  and 
Jefferson  Hospitals,  in  Philadelphia.  In  1895  the  Frederick 
Douglass  Hospital,  of  Philadelphia,  was  estabHshed.  Nathan 
F.  Mossell,  M.D.,  a  native  of  Canada,  and  a  graduate  of  Lin- 
coln University  and  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  was  the 
chief  spirit  in  the  founding  of  that  institution,  and  is  still  the 
Medical  Director.  During  the  last  twelve  years  the  Negro 
population  has  nearly  doubled,  and  the  demands  for  increased 
hospital  room  led  to  the  opening  in  April,  1906,  of  the  Mercy 


80  The  Ne^ro  In  Pemisylvania 

Hospital  and  School  for  Nurses,  in  Philadelphia.  A  hospital 
is  to  be  opened  in  the  near  future  in  Pittsburg. 

The  Negro  lawyer  does  not  have  the  opportunity  to  suc- 
ceed that  the  Negro  clergymen  and  physicians  have  had. 
These  latter  practically  have  the  practice  of  their  people,  but 
not  so  the  Negro  lawyer.  He  is  still  a  pioneer  and  at  a  dis- 
advantage, in  that  his  practice  is  not  private,  or  among  his 
own  people,  but  he  must  plead  before  a  white  judge  often 
against  a  white  lawyer  and  generally,  with  a  white  jury.  Yet, 
there  is  but  little  complaint  on  the  part  of  the  Negro  lawyers. 
The  average  Negro  coming  from  the  South  and  knowing 
how  great  a  handicap  the  lawyer  of  his  race  suffers  in  that 
section,  hesitates  long  before  employing  a  Negro  lawyer. 
There  are  not  more  than  a  third  as  many  Negro  lawyers  in 
Pennsylvania  as  physicians.  In  Philadelphia  there  are  four- 
teen; in  Pittsburg  five;  in  Harrisburg,  one. 

Negro  teachers  are  increasing  rapidly  each  year.  In 
1840,  there  were  36  in  the  State;  the  census  of  1900  reported 
222.  Negro  teachers  found  employment  as  far  back  as  the 
eighteenth  century.  In  1793,  "The  Committee  for  the  Improve- 
ing  the  Condition  of  Free  Blacks,"  suggested  the  opening  of 
a  new  school  for  Negro  children  and  stated  that  they  had 
found  a  black  woman  well  qualified  for  a  mistress  of  such  a 
school.  In  1838,  there  were  ten  private  schools  in  Philadel- 
phia, conducted  by  Negro  teachers.  From  its  beginning  in 
1837,  the  teachers  for  The  Institute  for  Colored  Youths,  have 
been  principally  Negroes.  As  long  as  the  State  recognized 
separate  Negro  public  schools,  many  of  the  teachers  of  them 
were  Negroes,  and  after  the  legal  abolition  of  separate-  schools 
in  1881  many  Negro  teachers  were  retained.  During  the  past 
decade  Negro  teachers  have  been  rapidly  increasing  in  public 
schools.  This  is  diie  largely  to  the  immigration  of  Negroes 
from  the  South.     Though  Negro  schools  have  no  legal  exist- 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  81 

cnce,  Negro  teachers,  as  a  rule,  teach  only  Negro  children. 
There  are  more  than  sixty  Negro  public  school  teachers  in 
Philadelphia. 

There  are  more  than  a  score  of  journaHsts  in  the  State., 
These,  with  one  or  two  exceptions  are  on  Negro  periodicals. 
The  first  Negro  newspaper  in  Pennsylvania  of  which  there  is 
any  record,  was  published  in  1838,  by  William  Whipper  and 
others.  The  next  attempt  was  in  Philadelphia  in  1841,  when 
Robert  Purvis  and  others  started  the  ''Demosthenian  Shield," 
The  oldest  Negro  publication  now  in  existence  in  America  is 
published  in  this  State — "The  Christian  Recorder,"  the  organ 
of  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  which  was  start- 
ed in  Philadelphia  in  1852.  There  were  in  1908  three  mag- 
azines and  about  twelve  weekly  papers,  published  by  Ne- 
groes in  the  State,  chiefly  in  Philadelphia.  Since  the  first 
attempt,  seventy  years  ago,  there  have  been  probably  fifty  at- 
tempts at  newspapers  and  periodicals,  the  most  of  which  have 
failed  for  the  lack  of  patronage.  In  Pittsburg,  the  first  at- 
tempt was  in  1848  when  the  Christian  Herald  was  published 
and  of  a  dozen  ventures  since  then,  none  have  been  able  to  sur- 
vive as  long  as  five  years.  Pittsburg  now  has  an  interesting 
weekly  paper — the  Courier.  The  attempts  at  daily  papers  have 
been  all  short-lived.  The  latest  was  in  1907  when  the  Phila- 
delphia Tribune  attempted  to  issue  a  daily.  It  was  soon 
discontinued  as  a  daily,  but  is  still  running  as  a  weekly  as 
it  has  for  twenty-five  years.  Though  the  illiteracy  of  the 
Negroes  of  the  State  is  very  small  and  though  there  are  at 
least  200,000  Negroes  in  the  State,  the  combined  circulation  of 
all  the  Negro  newspapers  in  the  State  would  hardly  reach  25,- 
000  copies  per  week.  The  Negro  newspapers  have  not  as  yet 
devoted  much  attention  to  the  economic  life  of  the  people  to 
whom  they  are  supposed  to  cater.  They  give  but  slight  at- 
tention to  business,  to  trade,  to  industrial  fife  and  industrial 


82  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

opportunities.  In  this,  they  are  not  leaders  of  thought,  but 
rather  followers.  They  are  devoted  chiefly  to  church  news, 
secret  society  news  and  personals.  Now  and  then,  they  dis- 
cuss politics  and  'The  Negro  Question."  Their  chief  handi- 
cap is  lack  of  capital.  Negroes  are  not  employed  largely  in  the 
mercantile  life  of  the  State  outside  of  menial  positions.  This 
is  due  chiefly  to  their  race,  for  as  a  general  rule  they  do  not 
have  the  opportunity.  Where  civil  service  is  operated,  how- 
ever, Negroes  always  have  better  opportunity.  In  the  Post 
Office  for  instance,  the  Negroes  have  been  able  to  secure  em- 
ployment. In  Philadelphia  there  were  in  1907,  175  Negroes  in 
the  Post  Office: — 126  clerks,  31  letter  carriers,  16  special  de- 
livery messengers  and  2  laborers ;  in  Pittsburg,  65  were  in  the 
Post  Office;  in  Harrisburg,  there  were  5  Negroes;  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  2 ;  in  Oxford  and  Coatesville,  i  each.  In  the  employ  of 
the  city  of  Philadelphia  there  were  126  Negroes  in  Novem- 
ber 1907;  in  the  city  of  Pittsburg,  5  messengers  at  $900  per 
year ;  26  policemen ;  i  chemical  engine  company,  of  six  mem- 
bers; I  city  detective;  and  janitors  and  laborers.  Most  of  the 
larger  cities  have  one  or  more  Negroes  holding  places  under 
the  civil  service. 

BUSINESS  ENTERPRISES  AMONG  NEGROES. 


The  Negro  entrepreneur  existed  as  far  back  as  there  is  any 
reliable  information.  In  the  registry  of  trades  of  Philadelphia 
in  1838,  344  Negroes — 133  women  and  211  men — were  re- 
ported as  being  in  business  for  themselves.  Most  of  th?.se 
were  in  the  humblest  kinds  of  business,  such  as  vending, 
dressmaking,  boot  and  shoe  repairing,  hair-dressing,  barbering. 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  83 

and  jobbing  in  various  building  trades.  In  1849,  another  ac^ 
count  revealed  166  shopkeepers  and  traders  among  Negro  men 
of  21  years  of  age  and  over. 

A  complete  enumeration  of  the  business  ventures  in  the 
principal  cities  of  the  State  has  been  attempted  and  though 
only  approximately  correct,  the  results  are  not  without  value. 
In  Philadelphia,  the  Colored  Directory  for  1908,  gave  more 
than  a  thousand  Negroes  conducting  nearly  a  hundred  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  business.  In  Pittsburg,  an  enumeration  dis- 
closed more  than  125  Negroes  in  more  than  fifty  different 
kinds  of  business.  In  Harrisburg,  an  incomplete  enumeration 
showed  about  fifty  Negroes  in  business,  the  principal  busi- 
nesses being  barber,  etc.  The  Colored  Directory  of  Philadel- 
phia for  1908,  by  R.  R.  Wright,  Jr.,  Ernest  Smith,  gives  a 
complete  list  of  the  businesses  conducted  by  Negroes  in  that 
city. 

There  are  probably  2,500  persons  in  the  State  who  belong 
to  the  entrepreneur  class,  most  of  them  being  engaged  in  small 
businesses.  Doubtless  many  of  them  are  not  able  to  receive 
from  their  business  any  larger  amount  than  they  would  if  they 
were  regular  wage-earners.  The  only  difference  between  them 
and  the  wage-earner  is,  that  they  have  more  control  over  their 
time.  The  largest  number  of  persons  is  in  the  barbering  busi- 
ness. In  Philadelphia  alone,  there  are  116  barbering  estabhsh- 
ments.  In  nearly  every  city  or  town  in  the  State  where  there 
are  as  many  as  a  hundred  Negroes,  there  is  such  an  establish- 
ment especially  for  the  patronage  of  Negroes.  The  barbers 
and  caterers  have  already  been  mentioned.  While  a  few  Ne- 
groes run  restaurants  and  cafes  for  whites  exclusively,  the 
great  mass  serve  their  own  race  principally.  The  majority  of 
these  establishments  are  small  and  many  of  the  restaurants 
are  ill-kept.  But  as  in  the  case  of  barbers,  so  with  the  res- 
taurant and  cafe,  the  standard  of  cleanliness  in  exclusively 


84  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

colored  establishments  has  had  rapid  development  in  the  past 
decade.  There  are  ten  small  hotels  in  Philadelphia  and  ten 
in  Pittsburg.  In  both  West  Chester  and  Johnstown,  one 
of  the  largest  hotels  is  conducted  by  a  Negro.  In  the  large 
cities  the  Negro  hotel  has  grown  up  chiefly  for  the  patronage 
of  Negroes,  whom  the  ordinary  hotel  conducted  by  whites 
serve  with  reluctance.  These  hotels  compare  favorably  with 
hotels  of  the  same  size  and  grade  of  patronage  conducted  by 
w^hites. 

The  Negro  barber,  caterer,  the  cleaner  and  hotel  keeper, 
are  the  developments  from  the  Negro  domestic  servant,  and 
are  connected  directly  with  the  slave  regime.  There  are  other 
and  newer  lines  of  business  in  which  Negroes  had  but  little 
previous  training  and  into  which  they  have  been  forced  largely 
by  necessity.  Real  estate  is  one  of  these.  There  as  37  real 
estate  dealers  and  11  building  and  loan  associations  in  Phila- 
delphia and  Pittsburg.  These  are  chiefly  the  growth  of  the 
past  two  decades  since  the  influx  of  Negro  immigrants  from 
the  South.  The  loan  and  investment  company  and  the  insur- 
ance company  are  still  later  developments  requiring  larger 
capital  and  a  different  kind  of  ability. 

•With  the  evolution  in  the  kind  of  business  has  gone  a 
gradual  complexity  of  organization.  Most  of  the  first  en- 
terprises were  private  concerns  requiring  chiefly  skill,  such 
as  the  knowledge  of  shaving,  cooking,  painting,  etc.,  and  but 
small  capital.  Thus  an  individual  conducted  a  business  alone. 
When  the  business  grew  larger  and  there  was  a  necessity  for 
combination,  this  necessity  was  met  by  taking  in  the  wife  or 
son  or  brother.  This  was  the  first  development  of  the  part- 
nership and  is  to-day  the  most  prevalent.  But  with  the  growth 
of  the  businesses  requiring  more  skill  and  capital,  than  one 
individual  possessed,  the  company  was  formed,  several  persons 
.coming  together  with  their  small  capital.     The  fraternal  and 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  85 

beneficial  societies  are  the  earlier  developments  along  this^ 
line.  With  the  need  for  still  larger  capital  and  more  thorough 
organization  came  the  incorporated  business,  the  oldest  of 
which  was  the  building  and  loan  association.  The  first  of 
these  in  Pennsylvania  the  Century  Building  and  Loan  Asso- 
ciation, was  incorporated  in  1886.  According  to  the  report  of 
the  Banking  and  Insurance  Commissioners  of  Pennsylvania 
for  1906,  ten  of  these  associations  were  reported  as  follows:. 

Name  of  Association 

Afro-American,  Pitts. 
Baker,  Pitts. 

Banneker,  Philadelphia  .  .    . 
Berean,  Philadelphia 
Century,  Philadelphia   .  .    .  . 
Cherry,  Philadelphia   .  . 
Colored  of  North  Philadel. 
8th  Ward  S'tlment,  Philadel. 
Pioneer,  Philadelphia 
William  Still,  Philadelphia 

Total  9704,380^25     $97,742.51 

There  were  970  persons  members  of  these  societies  of 
whom  382  were  females,  owning  4,380^  shares.  During  the 
year  1906,  25  homes  were  bought,  and  $97,742.91  received  as 
dues,  interest,  fines,  etc.  The  assets  of  these  associations  were 
reported  as  $198,587.27. 

The  largest  of  these  associations,  the  Berean  Building  and 
Loan  Association,  has  purchased  since  its  inception,  more^than 
169  homes  for  its  members,  at  an  average  cost  of  $3,000.  Dur- 
ing the  year  1906,  the  association  received  $37,009.06,  as  dues, 
$18,667.70,  on  mortgages  and  loans  unpaid,  $1,450,  from  the 
sale  of  real  estate,  with  other  miscellaneous  items,  making  a 
total  of  $59,077.52.  The  assets  of  the  association  were  reported 
at  $126,326.80,  the  undivided  profits  reported  at  $21,410.40. 


Year 
Organ- 

Total 
Mem- 

Total 
Shares 

Homes 
Bouffht 

Receipts 

ized 

bers 

in  1906 

1896 

56 

128 

I 

$    1,690.06 

1894 

20 

49 

I 

1,99576 

1905 

39 

121 

0 

1,771.78 

1888 

4262,351^  14 

59,077.78 

1886 

19 

66 

I 

4,659.05 

1904 

103 

431 

2 

6,842.02 

1906 

32 

106 

0 

616.72 

1906 

73 

294 

0 

2,091.48 

1888 

140 

705 

4 

17,725.18 

1905 

62 

129 

2 

1,873-34 

86  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

Related  to  the  Building  and  Loan  Association  is  the  incorpor- 
ated real  estate  company,  of  which  there  are  six  in  Philadel- 
phia and  three  in  Pittsburg,  all  of  which  have  been  incorporated 
during  the  past  ten  years.  These  associations,  owing  to  a 
wider  scope  of  operation  are  able  to  do  an  even  larger  busi- 
ness than  the  building  and  loan  associations.  They  sell  houses 
on  the  small  payment  plan,  arranging  the  payments  to  suit  the 
purchasers.  One  of  the  most  successful  of  these  in  Philadel- 
phia has  been  able  to  sell  houses  to  parties  who  make  about 
the  same  monthly  payments,  they  would  make  if  they  were 
renting.  Next  to  the  incorporated  real  estate  company  comes 
the  incorporated  insurance  company  which  grew  out  of  the 
sick  benefit  society.  According  to  the  report  of  the  Northern 
Aid  Society,  incorporated  December,  1902,  during  the  first  three 
years  of  its  existence,  $266,478  of  insurance  was  written  up; 
$6,199  of  sick  claims;  and  $1,202.36  of  death  claims  paid  and 
$10,421.53,  paid  out  to  employes.  Another,  the  Keystone  Aid 
Society,  also  incorporated  in  1902,  employs  47  persons,  has 
branch  offices  in  Coatesville,  Chester,  Bristol  and  Pittsburg, 
and  has  insured  15,700  persons.  Among  other  incorporated 
businesses  are,  six  cemetery  companies,  four  publishing  com- 
panies, two  loan  companies,  two  grocery  companies,  one  steam 
laundry,  one  excavating  company,  one  department  store,  and 
one  bank. 

During  1906,  there  were  18  new  business  companies  in- 
corporated in  Philadelphia.  In  Pittsburg,  a  syndicate  has  es- 
tablished four  drug  stores  during  the  past  four  years. 

The  test  of  the  business  ability  is  not  the  launching  of  an 
enterprise  so  much  as  continuing  it  over  a  period  of  years.  A 
study  therefore  of  the  number  of  years  which  Negro  busi- 
nesses have  endured  is  highly  important.  It  has  not  been  pos- 
sible to  obtain  information  concerning  every  establishment,  but 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  81 

a  tabulation  of  283  enterprises  in  Philadelphia  and  Pitts- 
burg is  here  given: 

Number  of  years  Phila.  Pitts.  Total 

established. 

Under  i  year  29  13  42 

1  year  23  10  33 

2  years  12  6  18 

3  years  22  7  29 

4  years  15  5  20 

5  to  7  years  35  10  45 
8  to  10  years  14  6  20 
II  to  15  years  14  7  21 
16  to  20  years  19  2  21 
21  to  25  years  6  I  .  7 
26  to  30  years  10  2  12 
31  to  40  years  516 
40  years  and  over  819 

Total  212  71  283 

Of  283  establishments,  42  had  been  estabHshed  less  than 
one  year,  and  seventy-two  less  than  two  years;  18  had  been 
established  two  years  and  29  for  three  years,  being  a  total  of 
122  establishments  of  three  years'  standing  or  less.  These  may 
be  said  to  represent  the  businesses  in  the  experimental  stage. 
They  comprise  about  two-fifths  of  the  total  number  of  busi- 
nesses among  Negroes  in  the  State.  The  85  establishments 
which  have  continued  from  four  to  ten  years,  comprise  about 
thirty  per  cent,  of  the  total,  and  may  be  said  to  have  passed 
the  experimental  stage,  and  to  be  in  the  second  stage  of  the 
competition  for  permanency.  Of  those  over  ten  years  old,  76 
or  thirty  per  cent.,  which  may  be  said  to  be  firmly  established. 
Forty-two  of  these  have  been  established  between  ten  and 
twenty  years,  while  thirty- four  had  been  established  over  twenty 
years.  Nine  establishments  had  an  existence  of  over  forty 
years;  eight  of  them  in  Philadelphia  and  one  in  Pittsburg. 
They   included,  three  caterers,  three  undertakers,   one   shoe- 


88  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

maker,  one  furniture  dealer  and  one  hair  dresser.  In  Alle- 
gheny, there  was  also  a  fish  dealer  whose  business  had  been 
in  operation  for  more  than  forty  years.  The  oldest  continuous 
business  in  the  State  is  the  catering  business  of  Augustine  and 
Baptiste  on  South  Fifteenth  Street  in  Philadelphia.  In  the 
early  part  of  the  last  century,  Robert  Bogle,  opened  a  catering 
establishment  at  the  corner  of  Eighth  and  Sansom  streets, 
Philadelphia,  which  he  conducted  very  successfully  until  1818, 
when  the  place  was  taken  by  Peter  Augustin,  a  West  Indian 
immigrant.  Augustin  conducted  the  establishment  on  an  en- 
larged scale  and  he  soon  had  one  of  the  most  famous  catering 
establishments  in  America.  Upon  his  death  in  1892,  the  busi- 
ness was  conducted  by  his  wife,  Marie  C.  Augustin.  A  part- 
nership was  formed  with  another  West  Indian  Negro  family 
and  the  firm  in  recent  years  has  been  known  as  Augustin  and 
Baptiste.  They  own  a  handsome  property  at  255-257  South 
Fifteenth  Street,  the  value  of  which  is  more  than  $60,000,  and 
are  among  the  largest  Philadelphia  caterers.  Almost  a  hun- 
dred years  ago  one  Allmond,  a  cabinet  maker,  established  quite 
a  reputation  in  the  city  for  the  quality  of  his  work.  Among 
other  things,  he  made  coffins.  His  son  followed  him  in  the 
trade  and  his  grandson  did  the  same.  During  the  day  of  the 
latter  the  undertaking  business  took  definite  shape,  became  dif- 
ferentiated from  that  of  the  cabinet  maker  and  included  fu- 
neral directing,  embalming  and  other  things  having  no  con- 
nection with  the  trade  of  the  cabinet  maker.  This  latter 
Negro,  opened  an  undertaking  establishment  and  two  of  his 
sons  took  up  the  business  after  him.  To-day,  there  are  in 
Philadelphia,  three  undertaking  establishments  conducted  un- 
der their  name.  In  Pittsburg,  the  oldest  Negro  business  is 
that  of  hair-dressing  and  wig-making.  In  1837,  John  Peck, 
a  colored  minister,  who  earned  his  living  chiefly  as  a  hair- 
dresser, opened  an   establishment  in  the  down-town  district. 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  89 


He  was  attentive  to  business  and  had  much  of  a  monopoly  of 
what  was  then  a  kind  of  personal  service.  After  he  died,  in 
1875,  his  wife  conducted  the  business  for  twelve  years  until 
her  death  in  1887.  The  business  had  been  located  in  one  place 
during  these  fifty  years  of  operation.  In  1887,  however,  it  was 
removed  and  the  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Peck,  took  charge  and 
has  conducted  it  for  more  than  twenty  years.  The  establish- 
ment is  located  in  the  business  district  of  Pittsburg,  within  a 
block  of  the  place  where  the  founder  started  it  in  1837,  just 
across  the  street  from  Joseph  Home's  department  store  ao_d 
within  a  hundred  yards  of  four  other  of  Pittsburg's  largest 
hairdressing  and  wig-making  establishments.  It  is  interesting 
to  note,  that  all  of  the  businesses  are  to-day  larger  and  more 
prosperous  than  they  were  at  any  time  during  the  life-time 
of  their  founders.  The  establishment  of  Augustin  and  Bap- 
tiste  is  larger  than  that  of  the  famous  Peter  Augustin  in  his 
most  successful  days.  The  property  is  valued  at  more;  the 
equipment  is  larger ;  the  number  of  Negroes  to  whom  employ- 
ment is  given  is  greater ;  moreover,  the  present  manager  of  the 
business,  is  a  business  man  who  plans  and  conducts  the  busi- 
ness side  of  the  establishment  against  severe  competition.  He 
neither  cooks  the  meals  nor  waits  on  the  tables,  but  the  famous 
Peter  was  both  cook  and  waiter.  Still  the  present  establish- 
ment has  not  the  reputation  which  the  earlier  one  had  a  half 
century  ago;  no  one  can  say  that  it  is  the  establishment  that 
makes  "Philadelphia  catering  famous  all  over  the  country." 
This  is  because  the  standard  in  catering  has  been  raised  and 
the  competition  increased,  so  that  the  first-class  Negro  es- 
tablishment of  to-day  does  not  attract  the  attention  which 
smaller  establishments  commanded  sixty  years  ago. 

The  solidarity  of  the  Negroes  as  an  employed  group  is 
r  radnally  being  broken  up  and  many  of  them  are  becoming  em- 
ployers of  labor.  Many  of  the  best  class  of  Negro  families 
employ  domestic  help.    Negro  business  men  are  each  year  em- 


90  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

ploying  more  of  their  race.  In  1909  in  Philadelphia,  199 
Negro  firms  employed  888  Negroes ;  and  in  Pittsburg  67  firms 
employed  412  Negroes.  A  fair  estimate  is  that  between  9,000 
and  10,000  persons,  including  proprietors,  secure  their  living 
from  Negro  businesses.  The  barbering  business  gives  em- 
ployment to  the  largest  number.  Forty-seven  Negro  barber- 
shops in  Philadelphia  employed  173  persons.  Next  come  the 
caterers  and  general  contractors,  some  of  whom  on  occasions 
employ  a  hundred  persons.  The  insurance  business,  real  es- 
tate companies  give  employment  to  stenographers,  bookkeepers, 
solicitors,  collectors,  etc.  Fully  ninety-five  per  cent,  of  the 
bookkeepers,  clerks  and  accountants  are  in  the  employ  of 
Negro  firms.  Of  the  members  of  the  Philadelphia  colored  wo- 
men's clerks'  association  only  two  were  employed  by  whites, 
and  these  received  less  wages  than  some  Negro  firms  paid. 
In  some  respects,  there  are  greater  difficulties  in  gaining  su-  I 
perior  proficiency  in  mechanical  trades  than  in  the  professions. 
For  the  professional  man  in  many  instances  has  the  compe- 
tition only  of  his  eroup  (as  for  example  the  minister),  and  has 
a  natural  constitutency  in  his  race.  The  Negro  teacher,  preacher 
and  physician,  succeed  wherever  the  Negroes  congregate  in 
large  numbers.  Then,  too,  there  is  every  facility  in  the  State 
for  the  professional  education  of  the  Negroes,  while  there  are 
but  few  opportunities  for  acquiring  a  high  degree  of  skill  on 
the  part  of  the  Negro  artisan.  There  are  few  industrial  or 
trade  schools  for  them  in  this  State,  and  they  are  generally 
not  admitted  as  apprentices  to  the  large  shops  where  skilled, 
mechanical  trades  are  taught.  Most  of  the  Negroes  who  fol- 
low skilled  trades  are  immigrants  from  the  South  or  the  West 
Indies,  and  learned  their  trades  outside  of  Pennsylvania. 
Those  who  control  the  skilled  trades  have  jealously  guarded 
their  possession  and  have  not  given  Negroes  much  opportunity. 
In  nearly  every  study  made  of  the  Negro  population  in  the 
State,  the  difficulty  of  pursuing  skilled  mechanical  trades  has 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  91 

been  noted.  In  1838  the  reporter  on  the  occupations  of  Ne- 
groes in  Philadelphia,  observed:  "We  are  aware  that  the 
greater  part  of  them  are  engaged  in  the  most  menial  services 
and  the  severest  labor,  they  are  met  (in  the  higher  branches  of 
labor)  with  prejudices  with  which  they  have  to  contend,  which 
renders  it  difficult  for  them  to  find  places  for  their  sons  as  ap- 
prentices, to  learn  mechanical  trades."  In  Edward  Needles' 
report  in  1856  th^e  same  sentiment  was  found  still  to  exist  in 
Philadelphia;  and  a  generation  later  Prof  W.  E.  B.  Du  Bois 
described  "the  practical  exclusion  of  the  race  from  the  trades 
and  industries  of  the  great  city  of  Philadelphia." 

The  Centennial  Souvenir  of  the  city  of  West  Chester 
speaks  of  the  "first  colored  high  school  graduate ;"  of  that  city 
as  follows:  "after  his  graduation,  he  tried  at  several  places 
to  apprentice  himself  to  learn  a  trade;  though  skilled  in  the 
use  of  tool  and  willing  to  work,  he  found  no  employment." 

The  chief  cause  of  the  exclusion  is  the  fact  that  the  great 
majority  of  the  white  workmen  refuse  to  work  with  Negroes. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  offer  evidences  of  this  here,  as  Dr.  Du 
Bois  in  his  "Philadelphia  Negro"  has  so  fully  presented  the 
case.  i      I 

Most  of  the  Negroes  who  work  at  the  mechanical  trades 
are  either  jobbers  or  work  exclusively  with  Negroes.  Some 
who  worked  at  trades  in  the  South,  on  coming  to  Philadelphia 
and  hearing  of  the  difficulty  which  Negroes  experience  in  at- 
tempting to  follow  trades  in  the  State  give  up  the  attempt 
without  serious  effort.  In  fact,  the  prevalent  opinion  among 
Negroes  as  to  the  impossibility  of  pursuing  a  trade  in  the 
North,  in  a  very  large  measure  accounts  for  the  scarcity  of 
Negroes  now  in  the  trades.  This  is  almost  as  important  a 
cause  as  the  attitude  of  the  white  workmen,  for  it  keeps  the 
Negroes  from  attempting  to  embrace  the  opportunities  which 
really  exist. 


92  The  Ne&ro  In  Pennsylvania 

Still,  there  are  many  Negroes  in  all  parts  of  the  State 
following  mechanical  trades  with  varying  success.  According 
to  the  census  of  1900,  10,427  Negroes  were  engaged  in  manu- 
facturing and  mechanical  pursuits.  The  principal  mechanical 
trades  for  males  having  100  or  more  Negroes  were  as  fol- 
lows: 

Trades.  Number  of  males  in  trade. 

Blacksmiths    150 

Boot   and   Shoemakers    105 

Brick  and  Tile   Makers    495 

Carpenters  and  Joiners  192 

Charcoal,  coke  and  lime  burners   525 

Engineers    and   firemen    '. 436 

Iron   and   steel  workers    1,582 

Brick  and  Stone  Masons   989 

Miners  and  Quarrymen   1,616 

Painters,  Glaziers  and  Varnishers   137 

Plasterers    106 

Printers,  Pressmen,  etc 104 

Tobacco  and  Cigar  Factory  Operators i£7 

Other  important  occupations  reported  for  Males  are: 
bakers,  38;  book-binders,  12;  bottlers,  8;  butchers,  55;  glass- 
workers,  63  ;  machinists,  74 ;  paperhangers,  88 ;  tin  plate  and  tin 
ware  workers,  72 ;  wire  workers,  49.  In  the  list,  there  are  92 
manufacturing  and  mechanical  pursuits  of  males  given  by  the 
census  of  1900.  Of  these  there  are  13  pursuits,  in  which  Ne- 
groes do  not  appear.  These  as  given  are,  box-makers  (wood), 
button  makers,  clock  and  watch  makers  and  repairers,  electro- 
platers,  lace  and  embroidery  makers,  print-work  operators, 
shirt,  collar  and  cuff  makers,  silk  mill  operators,  trunk  and  lea- 
ther case  makers,  umbrella  and  parasol  makers  and  well  borers. 
All  of  these  classes  of  labor  are  small,  none  having  as  many  as 
a  thousand  persons,  except  watch  and  clock  makers  and  re- 
pairers and  silk  mill  operatives.  It  is  a  fact,  however,  that 
many  of  the  classes  of  labor  reported  as  having  no  Negroes  in 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  93 

them,  in  1900,  did  have  Negroes  in  1907.  There  were  in  this 
latter  year  Negro  boxmakers,  clock  and  watch  makers  and  re- 
pairers, embroidery  makers,  piano  and  organ  tuners,  shirt,  col- 
lar and  cuff  makers,  umbrella  makers  and  well  borers. 

In  Philadelphia  there  is  one  Negro  brick-laying  contractor, 
who  has  put  up  more  than  fifty  houses  for  himself  in  the  last 
ten  years;  another,  who  has  erected  some  residences  in  the 
suburbs  of  Holmesburg  and  another  who  works  under  a  yearly 
contract  to  keep  several  stores  and  apartment  houses  in  re- 
pair; a  firm  of  plasterers  which  has  plastered  over  seven  hun- 
dred houses  within  the  past  four  years.  The  buildings  of  the 
Downingtown  Industrial  School,  and  several  Negro  churches 
were  erected  entirely  by  Negroes;  the  contractor,  on  the  new 
Congregational  Church  in  Pittsburg  was  a  Negro;  and  much 
of  the  work  on  Rockefeller  Hall,  Bryn  Mawr  College,  was 
done  by  Negro  mechanics.  In  the  steel  works  there  are  large 
numbers  of  Negro  workmen ;  all  of  the  puddlers  in  the  Black 
Diamond  Steel  and  Iron  Company  in  Pittsburg  are  Negroes; 
in  the  rolling  mills  at  Reading,  Steelton,  West  Chester,  Coates- 
ville,  Columbia  and  other  places  there  are  skilled  Negro  work- 
men. In  Clark's  Mills,  Pittsburg,  there  are  three  Negro  fore- 
men, having  under  them  as  high  as  twenty  men,  white,  as 
well  as  black.  Concerning  the  Negro  workmen  in  the  Steel 
industry,  Mr.  Chas.  J.  Harrah,  president  of  the  Midvale  Sieel 
Company,  a  successful  competitor  of  the  United  Steel  Corpora- 
tion for  the  government's  armor- plate  contracts,  testified  be- 
fore the  Industrial  Commission  in  1900,  as  follows :  '*We  have 
fully  800  or  1,000  colored  men.  The  balance  are  American, 
Irish  and  Germans.  The  colored  labor  we  have  is  excellent. 
They  are  lusty  fellows;  we  have  some  with  shoulders  twice  as 
broad  as  mine.  The  men  come  up  here  ignorant,  totally  un- 
tutored and  we  teach  them  the  benefits  of  discipline ;  we  teach 
the  colored  men  the  benefit  of  thrift,  and  coax  them  to  open  a 


94  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

bank  account,  and  he  generally  does  it  and  in  a  short  time 
has  money  in  it,  and  nothing  can  stop  him  from  adding  money 
to  that  bank  account.  We  have  no  colored  men  who  drink." 
As  to  friction,  Mr.  Harrah  said,  ''Not  a  bit  of  it.  They  work 
cheek  by  jowl  with  Irish,  and  when  the  Irishman  has  a  fes- 
tivity at  home,  he  has  the  colored  men  invited.  We  did  it  by 
trepidation.  We  introduced  one  man  at  first  to  .-^weep  rp 
the  yard  and  we  noticed  the  Irish,  Germans,  and  Americans 
looking  at  him  askance.  Then  we  put  in  another.  Then  we 
put  them  in  the  boiler-room  and  then  we  got  them  in  the  open 
hearth  and  in  the  forge  and  gradually  we  got  them  everywhere. 
They  are  intelligent,  docile  and  when  they  come  in  as  laborers 
unskilled,  they  gradually  become  skilled  and  in  the  course  of 
time,  we  will  make  excellent  foremen  out  of  them."  And  he 
added,  ''there  is  absolutely  no  difference  between  the  wages  of 
the  blacks  and  the  whites." 

The  great  mass  of  Negro  laborers  are  unorganized,  and 
come  in  contact  but  little  with  the  labor  union.  There  are  a 
few  Negroes  in  Philadelphia  who  are  members  of  some  of  the 
unions;  viz.,  the  carpenters,  stone  masons,  bricklayers,  paint- 
ers, cement  layers,  asphalt  pavers,  etc.  On  the  other  hand, 
there  are  some  unions  which  do  not  admit  or  have  not  admitted 
Negroes,  such  as  the  machinist,  locornotive  engineers,  etc.  In 
the  more  skilled  trades,  the  Negro  union  laborers  number  less 
than  200  in  Philadelphia,  and  less  than  500  in  Pennsylvania. 
Of  unskilled  labor,  the  most  thoroughly  organized  group  is  that 
of  the  hod-carriers.  Throughout  the  State  there  are  Negro 
hod-carriers.  In  Philadelphia  there  is  a  local  union  composed 
chiefly  of  Negroes,  with  a  Negro  president.  This  union,  the 
Light  Star  Lodge,  owns  a  four  story  brick  hall,  valued  at  about 
$20,000.  In  Pittsburg  also  the  hod-carriers'  union  is  composed 
predominately  of  Negroes,  but  is  not  as  large  as  the 
Philadelphia   lodge.     Next   to   the    hod-carriers,    come    the 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  95 

miners.  All  of  the  Negro  miners  in  the  State  are  union 
men,  and  members  of  the  United  Mine  Workers  of  America. 
These  are  located  chiefly  in  the  western  part  of  the  State,  hav- 
ing their  district  headquarters  at  Pittsburg.  The  United  Mine 
Workers  is  one  of  the  few  unions  in  which  the  Negroes  cgree 
that  they  receive  fair  treatment.  In  some  of  these  miners' 
unions,  there  are  Negro  officers,  and  Negroes  are  -'.iways  in 
attendance  at  the  annual  meetings. 

Negroes  have  made  some  attempts  at  independent  organi- 
zations. The  most  successful  of  these  is  that  among  the  hoist- 
ing engineers,  steam  and  gas  engineers,  started  in  Pittsburg 
in  1900  and  incorporated  in  1903  under  "The  National  Asso- 
ciation of  Afro-American  Steam  and  Gas  Engineers  and  Skill- 
ed laborers  in  America.  While  the  intention  i.^  to  organize 
Negro  labor  on  a  racial  basis,  there  is  no  antagonism  to  the 
general  labor  movement.  It  is  merely  believed  by  the  promot- 
ers to  be  better  for  Negro  workmen.  This  r.nion  has  been 
of  slow  growth  however.  There  are  only  three  locals  *n  the 
State :  two  at  Pittsburg,  having  50  members,  and  one  at  Read- 
ing, In  Philadelphia  there  is  an  organization  of  hoisting  engi- 
neers, which  as  yet  is  not  connected  with  the  Pittsburg 
union.  There  are  numerous  societies  and  clubs  ?mong  Ne- 
groes which  are  organized  along  labor  lines;  but  which  are 
more  social  and  beneficial  clubs  than  labor  unions.  The  Idgest 
of  these  is  the  Hotel  Brotherhood,  established  at  Philadelphia 
in  1881,  and  including  present  or  former  hotel  employes.  It 
pays  sick  and  death  benefits,  and  acts  as  a  kind  of  clearing 
house  for  hotel  labor.  In  1906,  the  Brotherhood  purchased  a 
club  house  at  the  cost  of  $15,000.  The  bell-men,  the  Pullman 
car  porters,  the  janitors,  the  private  waiters,  the  caterers,  the 
coachmen  and  others  in  domestic  and  personal  service,  have 
similar  but  smaller  organizations.  These  organizations  serve 
largely  as  aids  in  securing  work,  but  have  made  but  little  at- 
tempt to  regulate  wages  and  apprentices. 


96  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

In  and  about  Pittsburg,  are  many  whose  connection  with 
the  labor  unions  in  the  steel  industry  is  interesting  and  in- 
structive, as  it  illustrates  one  aspect  of  the  labor  union's  attitude 
toward  the  Negroes.  In  the  early  days  of  the  steel  industry, 
the  Sons  of  Vulcan,  which  included  puddlers  in  its  membership, 
was  organized  but  limited  its  membership  to  whites.  About 
1875  there  was  a  strike  in  one  of  the  Pittsburg  mills;  Negro 
non-union  puddlers  were  brought  from  Richmond,  Virginia, 
to  break  the  strike.  The  next  year,  in  1876,  the  Amalgamated 
Association  of  Iron  and  Steel  Workers  was  formed.  In  the 
preamble  to  its  Constitution  it  declared :  "In  union  there  is 
strength,  and  in  the  formation  of  a  National  Amalgamated  As- 
sociation, embracing  every  iron  and  steel  worker  in  the  coun- 
try, a  union  founded  upon  a  basis  broad  as  the  land  in  which 
we  live,  lies  our  only  hope."  Still  no  Negroes  were  organized. 
A  few  years  later,  however,  the  Negroes  were  organized  both 
in  Pittsburg  and  in  the  South.  Their  connection  with  the 
union,  which  was  at  one  time,  the  strongest  in  the  country,  has 
not,  however,  been  very  satisfactory. 

The  general  opinion  of  the  Negro  workers  in  the  Pitts- 
burg steel  mills  who  were  interviewed  by  the  writer,  is  that  the 
unions  are  a  hindrance  rather  than  a  help  to  the  Negro.  Sev- 
eral have  been  members  and  one  had  been  president  of  a  South- 
ern union  and  a  delegate  to  the  National  Convention  of  Steel 
Workers ;  some  had  gone  out  on  strikes  for  the  union.  Their 
testimony  is  summarized  as  follows: 

1.  The  organizations  out  of  which  the  Amalgamated  As- 
sociation of  Steel  and  Iron  Workers  was  formed  did  x^ot  admit 
Negroes. 

2.  After  the  Amalgamated  Association  was  formed, 
white  union  men  refused  to  work  with  Negro  union  men  or 
to  help  protect  Negro  workmen,  thus  making  union  member- 
ship of  no  industrial  value  to  the  Negro  workers. 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  97 

3.  All  the  new  opportunities  secured  by  Negroes  have 
been  gotten  in  spite  of  the  union,  not  with  its  aid. 

4.  Membership  was  offered  to  Negroes  only  after 
Aey  had  successfully  won  their  places  against  unions,  and  the 
pledges  of  membership  generally  broken  by  the  white  members. 

In  support  of  the  first  point,  they  say  no  Negro  is  known 
ever  to  have  been  a  member  of  the  Sons  of  \'^ulcan,  the  As- 
sociated Brotherhood  of  Iron  and  Steel  Heaters,  or  the  Iron 
and  Steel  Roll  Hands'  Union;  and  that  one  of  these  imions 
had  a  clause  in  its  constitution  which  prohibited  Negroes  from 
membership.  Amalgamating  these  bodies  did  not  lesson 
prejudice.  Although  the  constitution  of  the  amalgamated  i  s- 
sociation,  did  not  put  in  the  "for  whites  only"  clause,  but  de- 
clared that  the  union  ought  to  embrace  everv  iron  ?nd  steel 
worker  in  the  country,  it  in  spirit  ignored  the  Negro.  The 
most  intelligent  leaders  may  have  meant  to  include  Negro 
workers  in  this,  but  it  was  not  so  understood  by  the  ru?sses. 
In  support  of  the  second,  several  instances  are  given  in  which 
union  men  refused  to  work  with  their  Negro  brethren.  One 
of  the  principal  instances  of  this  was  the  case  at  Beaver  Falls. 
Some  Negro  workmen,  who  at  their  union's  request  had  struck 
in  Pittsburg,  heard  of  the  need  of  puddlers,  at  Beaver  Falls, 
and  were  taken  by  the  white  secretary  of  the  union,  who  tried 
to  get  work  for  them  there,  but  the  white  workmen  would  not 
work  with  Negroes  despite  the  pleadings  of  the  secretary,  and 
the  need  of  workmen. 

In  support  of  the  third  statement  it  is  asserted  that  Negroes 
now  work  only  in  non-union  mills;  that  they  secured  their  op- 
^rtunity  in  the  Black  Diamond  mills  after  they  had  been  ig- 
nored by  the  union  at  Beaver  Falls,  by  taking  the  places  of 
strikers ;  that  they  secured  their  place  in  Clark's  Mills  in  1888, 
and  in  Homestead  in  1892,  and  in  most  other  places  by  going 
to  work  after  white  union  men  had  quit.     And  they  say    that 

7 


98  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

only  after  they  had  gotten  in  the  Park  Bros.'  Mill,  were  the^ 
offered  membership  in  the  union.  The  Negroes  in  Pittsburg 
were  organized  to  insure  against  them  acting  as  strike  breakers, 
i.  e.,  to  protect  the  white  unionists,  but  not  particularly  to  ad- 
vance the  cause  of  the  Negroes.  The  last  attempt  to  organize 
the  Negroes  was  in  1901,  when  many  of  them  struck  at  Clark's 
Mill,  in  order  to  help  maintain  the  union.  The  strike  failed  and 
since  then  the  union  has  been  very  weak.  Overtures,  however, 
are  being  made  to  the  Negroes  to  join  again. 

The  whole  history  of  the  labor  union  situation  among  iron 
and  steel  workers  has  been  an  attempt  of  white  workmen  to 
use  Negroes  to  their  advantage  without  giving  corresponding 
advantages.  As  late  as  1905,  at  a  general  meeting  of  the 
Amalgamated  Association  of  Iron  and  Steel  Workers  in 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  it  was  resolved  that  Negroes  not  be  organized, 
or  encouraged  to  learn  the  trade,  as  it  might  inspire  Negroes 
from  the  South  to  come  North  and  compete  with  white  men. 
At  the  meeting  in  Youngstown,  Ohio,  in  1907,  however,  there 
seemed  to  be  a  change  of  sentiment,  and  it  was  resolved  to 
organize  Negroes  wherever  possible.  But  in  1908  no  advance 
along  this  line  had  been  made  in  Pennsylvania. 

The  hostile  or  indifferent  treatment  of  Negroes  by  the 
unions,  though  quite  opposite  to  that  of  the  United  Mine 
Workers,  is  to  a  large  extent,  the  basis  of  opinion  among 
Negroes  that  the  unions  are  opposed  to  them.  And  of  late 
years  this  opinion  has  grown  to  a  very  considerable  extent. 
When  Professor  Du  Bois  wrote  his  ''Philadelphia  Negro,"  he 
was  able  to  give  a  large  number  of  instances  of  Negroes  who 
had  been  refused  by  unions.  But  when  the  present  investiga- 
tion was  made,  ten  years  later,  very  few  Negroes  could  be 
found  who  had  recently  applied  to  the  unions  for  admission. 
As  Professor  Du  Bois  found,  however,  the  present  inves- 
tigator also  found  a  very  pronounced  opinion  prevalent  among 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  99 

the  Negroes  that  they  were  not  welcome  in  the  unions.  Now, 
instead  of  applying  for  admission  to  the  unions,  the  Negroes 
take  for  granted  that  the  unions  are  hostile  and  they  do  not 
seek  to  join. 

This  attitude  has  the  effect  of  preventing  many  Negroes 
from  attempting  to  follow  their  trade.  The  newcomer  who 
has  probably  worked  at  the  trade  of  a  carpenter  in  the  South 
is  informed  as  soon  as  he  reaches  the  State,  that  he  cannot 
work  at  his  trade  because  of  the  hostility  of  the  labor  unions. 
Having  probably  heard  this  also  before  he  left  the  South,  after 
a  desultory  search,  he  gives  up  under  the  impression  that  the 
union  is  the  cause  of  his  inability  to  get  work  at  his  trade.  The 
fact,  however,  is  that  it  is  not  always  the  union  as  much  as 
the  increased  competition  and  higher  standard  of  efficiency 
of  the  more  complex  community  into  which  he  has  come. 

The  leaders  of  the  labor  movement  both  in  Pittsburg  and 
in  Philadelphia  are  agreed  that  there  is  in  theory  no  hostility  on 
the  part  of  the  union  against  the  Negro.  Most  of  them  see 
clearly  what  a  disadvantage  to  the  labor  movement  it  would 
be  to  have  Negroes  hostile  to  the  movement  or  the  movement 
hostile  to  the  Negroes.  They  complain  that  the  Negroes  have 
been  used  in  many  instances  to  injure  their  cause  and  they 
know  that,  with  increasing  intelligence  and  skill,  Negroes  will 
be  more  capable  of  retarding  the  movement  for  the  uplift  of 
labor.  Most  labor  leaders  have  to  contend  very  largely  with 
mediocre  intelligence,  and  often  gross  ignorance  among  whi.te 
men ;  with  greed  and  selfishness,  with  human  nature  as  it  is. 
They  claim  that  as  the  ordinary  white  man  who  joins  the 
Christian  church  is  not  revolutionized  in  his  idea  about  the 
Negro,  so  the  one  who  joins  the  union  probably  has  undergone 
but  little  change  in  regard  to  the  Negro.  They  point  out  also 
that  non-union  white  men  are  as  averse  to  working  with  Ne- 
groes as  union  white  men.    At  any  rate,  as  the  situation  now 


J  00  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

is,  the  majority  of  Negroes  are  non-union,  and  will  probably 
so  remain  until  they  develop  enough  strength  independently 
so  that  they  can  be  of  more  definite  help  or  hindrance  to  the 
union  cause.  By  keeping  Negroes  out  of  the  trades,  compe- 
tition is  lessened  for  the  men  in  the  union.  As  long  as  Ne- 
groes wait  to  be  invited  in  by  the  unions  they  will  remain  out- 
side. Only  by  succeeding  in  spite  of  the  indifference  of  the 
imion  and  even  its  occasional  hostility,  can  Negroes  hope  to 
be  recognized. 

The  Negroes  who  immigrated  to  the  State  before  the  Civil 
War,  came  principally  from  the  rural  districts  of  the  South, 
and  settled  largely  in  the  rural  districts  of  Pennsylvania. 
P>iends  of  the  race  in  the  South  who  sent  manumitted  Negroes 
North,  rightly  believed  that  these  Negroes  could  better  suc- 
ceed as  laborers  on  the  farm,  to  which  they  were  accustomed, 
than  as  workers  in  the  city.  Many  escaped  slaves  settled  also 
in  the  rural  districts  and  some  conducted  successful  farms  un- 
til frightened  away  by  slave  hunters  and  the  passage  of  the 
Fugitive  Slave  law. 

In  the  Southern  and  Eastern  counties  of  the  State,  particu- 
larly Delaware,  Chester,  Lancaster,  York,  Cumberland,  Frank- 
lin, Fayette  and  Washington,  there  were  some  well  conducted 
farms.  But  the  era  of  the  great  industrial  expansion  occa- 
sioned by  improved  means  of  transportation  and  communica- 
tion and  improved  machinery,  has  almost  depleted  the  country 
districts,  so  far  as  the  Negro  is  concerned.  The  same  motives 
which  caused  the  white  boy  and  girl  to  leave  the  farm  to  go 
to  the  city,  also  impelled  the  Negro  boy:  higher  wages,  more 
excitement,  greater  opportunity  for  self-expression  and  ad- 
venture. Good  farms  which  were  cultivated  for  years  by  the 
fathers  were  deserted  by  the  sons  and  daughters.  And  now 
the  Negro  farmer  in  the  State  forms  but  a  small  proportion 
of  Negro  workers. 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  101 

In  1900,  according  to  the  Census,  there  were  3,696  Ne- 
groes in  agricultural  pursuits,  about  4.6%  of  the  total  number 
of  Negro  workers;  3,037  of  these  persons,  about  five- sixths 
of  the  total  were  agricultural  laborers,  518  were  farmers,  plant- 
ers, and  overseers.  There  are  three  dairymen;  89  gardeners, 
florists  and  nurserymen;  21  lumbermen  and  raftsmen;  11 
stock  raisers,  herders  and  drovers  and  16  wood  choppers. 

There  were  in  1900,  585  farms  operated  by  owners,  26 
by  part  owners,  i  by  owner  and  tenants;  145  by  cash  tenants, 
and  y2  by  share  tenants.  As  to  the  size,  21  of  these  farms  were 
less  than  three  acres ;  149  from  three  to  ten  acres ;  91  from  ten 
to  twenty  acres;  130  from  twenty  to  fifty  acres;  109  from  fifty- 
one  to  one  hundred  acres;  62  from  one  hundred  to  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five  acres;  2  from  two  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  to  five  hundred ;  and  none  over  five  hundred  acres.  The 
principal  sources  of  income  on  the  farms  were  as  follows: 
For  78  farms,  hay  and  grain;  for  3,  tobacco;  for  145,  live 
stock;  while  256  had  various  other  crops.  On  the  585  farms, 
562  reported  the  value  of  domestic  animals  at  $154,118.  On 
386  farms,  there  were  2,514  head  of  neat  cattle;  on  362  farms, 
there  were  1,571  dairy  cows;  and  on  43  other  farms,  900  head 
of  other  neat  cattle.  On  507  farms  there  were  1,220  horses, 
and  on  37,  there  were  85  mules.  There  were  reported  172 
lambs,  and  993  sheep,  one  year  and  over;  1,781  head  of  swine; 
2  goats ;  $9,476  worth  of  poultry  and  $200  worth  of  bees.  2$ 
farms  reported  bees  and  458  reported  chickens.  490  farms 
of  2,938  acres  produced  108,258  bushels  of  corn  and  262 
farms  of  1,988  acres  produced  25,742  bushels  of  wheat;  2^7^ 
farms  of  1,484  acres,  produced  45,007  bushels  of  oats.  One 
farm  used  four  acres,  producing  100  bushels  of  barley;  60 
farms  employed  244  acres,  producing  3,120  bushels  of  rye; 
C^  farms  produced  3,557  bushels  of  buckwheat  on  277  acres. 

There  are  more  than  75,000  Negroes  Hving  within  this 


102  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

State,  who  were  born  outside  of  its  borders  and  who  immi- 
grated here  between  the  ages  of  fifteen  and  fifty  years.  They 
are,  therefore,  principally  able-bodied  workers.  Although  the 
State  expended  nothing  for  their  care  during  infancy  and 
little  for  their  education,  it  reaps  the  benefit  of  their  toil.  Un- 
like most  foreigners  who  come  to  the  State,  the,  Negroes  do 
not  have  to  learn  the  language,  or  become  used  to  the  na- 
tional customs;  but  they  are  able  to  adapt  themselves  quickly 
to  our  environment.  Moreover,  as  a  rule,  they  are  a  class  of 
contented  laborers  and  seldom  disturb  the  industrial  equi- 
librium. There  are  no  Negro  anarchists  in  Pennsylvania  and 
as  far  as  our  knowledge  goes,  there  never  have  been  any. 
There  are  no  violent  antagonists  to  the  social  order.  The 
Negroes  are  essentially  a  race  of  peace  and  patience.  Their 
long  suffering  during  the  days  of  slavery,  their  religious  tem- 
perament, childlike  faithfulness  and  their  wonderful  adapta- 
Vility,  are  calculated  to  make  them  a  valuable  asset  to  any  com- 
munity in  which  they  may  be  settled,  if  they  are  given  rea- 
sonably fair  treatment.  They  are  cheap  workers  because  of 
circumstances.  Much  that  they  ought  to  receive  in  wages  goes 
to  society  as  a  part  of  its  surplus.  They  have  laid  most  of  the 
asphalt  pavements  in  the  State,  helped  to  construct  many  of 
the  principal  sewers,  the  Philadelphia  subway  and  the  filter 
plant.  If  they  have  been  underpaid  in  these  matters  it  has 
benefited  the  taxpayers.  At  any  rate  many  of  the  public  im- 
provements in  the  State  have  been  made  by  these  Negro  la- 
borers whom  the  State  did  not  train,  but  who  as  able-bodied 
workmen  immigrated  from  the  South.  Again,  the  Negro  im- 
migrants unlike  much  of  the  foreign  labor,  come  to  make  this 
State  their  permanent  home.  Their  savings  are  invested  in 
the  property  and  banks  of  the  State,  and  what  they  spend  is 
spent  within  the  State.  But  a  very  small  proportion  of  the 
money  they  earn  is  sent  out  of  the  State  and  practically  none 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  103 

is  sent  out  of  the  country.  Negroes  have  shown  despite  their 
meagre  opportunity,  capacity  for  improvement  in  labor  and 
the  management  of  business.  The  best  of  them  are  able  to 
rise  above  mediocrity  and  the  majority  of  them  are  useful 
workers.  Economically  considered,  from  the  point  of  view 
of  the  State,  the  Negro  worker  has  been  a  very  profitable  ac- 
quisition. 

OWNERSHIP  OF  PROPERTY. 


The  acquisition  of  property  presupposes  industry, 
thrift  and  self-sacrifice.  The  study  of  the  wealth  which 
Negroes  have  been  able  to  amass  is  a  study  of  the  race's 
industry  and  self-sacrifice,  and  shows  something  of  its 
higher  strivings.  For,  as  has  been  shown,  the  men  of  the 
group  are  largely  engaged  in  unskilled  labor,  which  barely 
yields  enough  to  maintain  even  the  lowest  standard  of  de- 
cent living.  To  save,  out  of  their  meagre  earnings,  suffi- 
cient money  with  which  to  secure  real  property  is,  there- 
fore, a  sacrifice  which  only  the  best  and  most  thoughtful 
undergo. 

The  first  mention  of  a  Negro  in  connection  with  prop- 
erty-owning in  Pennsylvania  is  in  the  will  which  William 
Penn  made  in  1701  in  which  he  gave  to  one  of  his  Negro 
slaves,  "Old  Sam,"  "and  to  his  children's  children  forever," 
one  hundred  acres  of  land.  Whether  this  property  was 
turned  over  to  "Old  Sam"  or  not,  is  uncertain,  for  this  will 
was  invalidated  by  a  later  one,  in  which  no  mention  is 
made  of  "Old  Sam"  or  any  slaves,  or  of  any  property  to 
be  transferred  to  Negroes.  When  the  first  property  was 
actually  acquired  by  Negroes  is,  therefore,  unknown.    Ac- 


104  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

cording  to  the  report  of  the  Pennsylvania  Abolition  So- 
ciety, in  1796  there  were  89  Negroes  who  were  proprietors 
of  houses,  the  average  value  of  which  was  about  $200.  Im 
1821,  the  amount  of  real  estate  owned  by  Negroes  in  Phila- 
delphia was  $281,162,  assessed  at  $112,464.  In  1832,  the 
Negroes  sent  a  memorial  to  the  Legislature  in  which  they 
claimed  to  pay  $2,500  taxes  on  property,  the  market  value 
of  which  was  about  $300,000.  In  1838,  it  was  estimated 
that  the  value  of  real  estate  owned  by  Negroes  was  $322,- 
532,  on  which  $3,252.83  taxes  were  paid  and  the  personal 
property  $667,859.  In  1849,  Edward  Needles  reported  315 
Negro  property  owners,  having  real  estate  in  Philadelphia 
with  personal  property  valued  at  $630,886.  In  1856,  the 
real  and  personal  property  of  Negroes  was  valued  at  $2,- 
685,693,  on  which  they  paid  $9,766.42  taxes. 

Dr.  DuBois  estimated  the  value  of  real  estate  and  per- 
sonal property  owned  by  the  Negroes  of  Philadelphia  as 
$5,000,000,  in  1898.  According  to  the  census  of  1900,  there 
were  in  the  state  3,978  homes  owned  by  their  Negro  occu- 
pants, while  25,221  were  hired  and  the  ownership  of  1,850 
was  unknown.  The  large  majority  of  the  houses  which  are 
owned  by  Negroes  are  located  in  the  smaller  towns  where 
the  cost  of  property  is  not  as  high  as  in  the  large  cities. 

The  difficulty  of  estimating  the  value  of  property  own- 
ed by  Negroes  is  due  to  the  fact  that  on  the  tax  books  no 
account  is  taken  of  the  color  of  the  taxpayer,  and  one  has 
to  rely  on  the  recollection  of  the  tax  assessors  and  is  de- 
pendent on  the,  word  of  various  individuals.  The  personal 
registration  law  for  cities  of  the  first  class  provided  for 
registration  of  all  voters  by  color,  age,  occupation  and 
whether  they  are  lodgers,  lessees  or  owners  of  the  houses 
in  which  they  live.  This  is  however,  unsatisfactory,  as  it 
gives  nothing  of  those  men  who  do  not  register  or  of  the 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  105 

women  who  own  homes  or  of  men  owning  property  else- 
where. Nor  does  it  give  anything  as  to  the  amount  of 
property  owned.  One  is  left  almost  entirely  to  private 
sources  of  information  which  may  be  inaccurate. 

The  following  is  based  upon  estimates  made  by  old 
citizens,  reports  of  tax  assessors,  records  of  personal  regis- 
tration, lists  of  taxpayers  given  by  clergymen,  newspaper 
editors,  doctors,  lawyers,  charity  workers  and  others  and 
verified  by  the  tax  assessor's  books. 

In  every  case,  the  estimate  is  possibly  lower  than  the 
actual  amount  of  property.  In  1907  there  were  712  Negro 
taxpayers  having  802  pieces  of  property  in  Philadelphia, 
paying  taxes  on  $2,438,675.  Eighteen  of  these  properties 
were  assessed  at  less  than  $500  each,  a  total  valuation  of 
$4,725;  52  between  $500  and  $1,000,  a  total  of  $412,500; 
529  between  $1,000  and  $3,000,  a  total  of  $948,200;  116 
pieces  assessed  between  $3,000  and  $5,000,  a  total  of  $426,- 
150;  64  pieces  assessed  between  $5,000  and  $7,500,  a  total 
of  $388,100;  II  pieces  assessed  between  $7,500  and  $10,000, 
a  total  of  $89,500;  12  pieces  assessed  between  $10,000  and 
over,  a  total  value  of  $169,500.  This  represents  an  invest- 
ment of  about  $5,000,000.  In  Harrisburg,  the  first  ward, 
8  persons  are  reported  as  owning  11  pieces  of  property  as- 
sessed at  $12,200;  in  the  tenth  ward,  the  assessor  writes 
me,  "We  are  glad  to  say  that  so  far  as  we  know,  not  one 
foot  of  real  estate  in  our  ward  is  owned  by  Negroes;"  in 
the  fifth  ward,  9  persons  are  given,  owning  9  pieces  of 
property  assessed  at  $9,660;  a  total  of  twenty-five  persons 
owning  $27,900.  In  Chester,  102  property  holders,  y6  males 
and  26  females,  were  reported  having  property  valued  at 
$160,000.  Valuation  of  property  of  Negroes  in  various  other 
cities  is  estimated  by  reliable  correspondents  to  be  $50,000 
for  York;  $150,000  for   Coatesville;  $100,000  for   Wilkes- 


106  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

Barre ;  $9,000  for  Doylestown ;  $75,000  for  Altoona ;  $2,000,- 
000  for  Pittsburg  and  Allegheny;  $150,000  for  Washington; 
$50,000  for  Media;  and  $400,000  for  West  Chester.  In 
Philadelphia  there  are  several  estates  of  Negroes  said  to 
be  worth  a  quarter  of  a  million  dollars.  The  estate  of  the 
late  John  McKee  was  said  to  be  worth  upwards  of  a 
million  dollars ;  that  of  Mrs.  Henry  Jones,  widow  of  ca- 
terer Henry  Jones,  came  very  near  a  quarter  of  a  million 
dollars.  Near  Altoona,  three  families  owned  more  than 
$10,000  worth  of  property.  Three  Negroes  in  Johnstown 
own  property  which  is  valued  at  $10,000;  several  in  West 
Chester  and  Carlisle  have  property  valued  at  $10,000  or 
more.  In  the  smaller  places  where  there  are  but  few  Ne- 
groes, they  often  pay  taxes  on  $3,000  to  $25,000  worth  of 
property. 

It  is  difficult  to  estimate  the  total  value  of  the  property 
owned  by  Negroes  in  the  state.  The  average  assessed  value 
of  802  pieces  of  property  in  Philadelphia  was  $3,041.  In 
1900,  Philadelphia  County  had  about  one-tenth  of  the 
property  owned  by  Negroes  in  the  state.  To-day,  Phila- 
delphia property  is  assessed  at  $2,438,675.  If  the  same 
proportion  holds,  the  assessed  value  of  the  property  of 
Negroes  in  the  State  is  between  $20,000,000  and  $25,000,000. 
From  the  registration  books  in  Philadelphia,  it  is  possible 
to  secure  the  occupations  of  the  men  who  are  voters  and 
property  holders.  The  following  table  shows  the  occu- 
pations of  the  485  men  who  registered  as  owning  homes: 

Occupation  of  home  owners.  Number. 

Laborers    68 

Caterers    38 

Teamsters   and   drivers    34 

Waiters    32 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  101 

Porters  (in  stores  and  on  R.  R.) 27 

Clerks    27 

Dealers    and    merchants 25 

Janitors 17 

Butlers    •  • 17 

Clergyman    15 

Barbers     14 

Coachmen    13 

Gardeners  and  farmers    10 

Physicians    and    dentists 9 

Messengers    .  , 7 

Policemen    •  • 6 

Stewards     6 

Retired  persons    6 

Upholsterers    5 

Insurance  agents   4 

Contractors    4 

Teachers     4 

Watchmen    4 

Packers     4 

Cookst 4 

Firemen    4 

Foremen,  lawyers,  shoemakers,  musicians  and  livery- 
men, 3  each;  15  hotelkeepers,  undertakers,  butchers,  super- 
intendents, cigarmakers,  tailors,  bricklayers,  plasterers,  bar- 
tenders, stonecutters,  carpenters,  engineers,  lettercarriers, 
artists,  hucksters,  bookkeepers,  stable  bosses,  stockkeepers, 
2  each;  36  expressmen,  restaurant  keepers,  menders,  wire 
insulator,  pilot,  salesman,  dyer,  masseur,  florist,  operator, 
bellman,  journalist,  elevator  man,  jeweler,  blacksmith,  pho- 
tographer, manufacturer,  longshoreman,  agent,  laundryman, 
I  each.  21. 

These  tables  show  that  the  large  majority  of  Negro 


108 


The  Neiro  In  Pennsylvania 


home-owners  are  in  domestic  and  personal  service.  In  Phil- 
adelphia alone,  laborers,  caterers,  teamsters,  porters,  jani- 
tors, butlers,  coachmen,  messengers,  stewards,  watchmen, 
bellmen,  cooks,  firemen,  elevator  operators,  barbers,  com- 
prise nearly  three  hundred  of  the  four  hundred  and  eighty- 
five  home  owners  returned.  In  Chester,  a  large  proportion 
of  the  home  owners  are  laborers. 

The  same  record  shows  that  the  485  Negroes  in  Phila- 
delphia, above  referred  to,  were  natives  of  the  different 
states  in  about  the  same  proportion  as  the  general  majority 
of  Negroes.  The  largest  number  of  Negro  property  hold- 
ers were  born  in  Pennsylvania,  while  Virginia,  Maryland 
and  North  Carolina  follow  in  the  order  given. 

Ages  and  length  of  residence  of  property  holders:  The 
following  tables  are  compiled  from  the  registration  books 
and  show  the  age  periods  of  property-holding  voters,  and 
the  period  of  years  that  they  have  lived  in  the  state: 

Age  Periods.  No.  of  Holders.     Percentage. 

From   21    to   30  years. 

From    31    to   40   years. 

From   41   to    50   years, 

From    51    to   60   years, 

From   61    to   70  years. 

From    71    to   80  years. 

Eighty  years  or  over. 

Age  unknown  or  not  given, 

Total, 

Length  of  residence  in  Pennsylvania: 

Immigrant  Native 

(Negroes)         (Negroes) 
born  outside  Pa.  born  in  P'a.  Total 
From     I  to  5  years,  8  8 

From     6  to  10  years,  38  (a)  38 

From   II  to  15  years,  65   (b)  65 

From  16  to  20  years,  56  (c)  56 


32 

6.6 

126 

25-9 

177 

36-7 

«7 

17.9 

42 

8.7 

13 

2.7 

2 

•5 

5 

I.O 

485 

100.00 

Born  outside  Pa. 

Born  in  Pa. 

Total 

39 

3 

42 

42 

12 

54 

26 

14 

40 

30 

18 

48 

14 

22 

36 

318 

69 

387 

7 

20 

27 

I 

14 

15 

I 

18 

19 

2 

14 

16 

I 

3 

4 

13 

4 

17 

A  Sfudy  In  Economic  Rhtory  109 


From  21  to  25  years, 
From  26  to  30  years, 
From  31  to  35  years, 
From  36  to  40  years. 
From  41  to  45  years. 

Total  up  to  45  years. 
From  46  to  50  years, 
From  51  to  55  years, 
From  56  to  60  years, 
From  61  to  70  years. 
From  71  years  and  over. 
Residence  not  given, 

Total,  343   (d)  142  (d)       485 

The  largest  number  of  owners  is  between  the  ages  of 
41  and  50  years;  the  second  largest  between  31  and  40  years 
of  age  ;  336  owners  are  fifty  years  of  age  or  younger,  that 
is,  practically  seventy  per  cent,  of  those  who  own  prop- 
erty were  born  since  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  War,  and 
therefore  belong  to  the  generation  of  the  free  men. 

These  facts  are  deserving  of  more  than  passing  notice, 
in  view  of  the  frequent  assertion,  that  the  younger  genera- 
tion of  Negroes,  born  since  Abraham  Lincoln's  Proclama- 
tion of  Emancipation  and  especially  those  who  have  migrated 
North,  are  not  equal  to  their  fathers  in  the  matter  of  acquir- 
ing property.  These  facts  seem  to  point  to  an  opposite 
conclusion. 

It  is  impossible  to  get  any  accurate  statistics  of  the 
savings  of  Negroes.  Some  idea  may  be  given  by  reports  re- 
ceived from  two  of  Philadelphia's  vSavings  Fund  Societies. 
The  result  of  a  record  kept  of  the  colored  depositors  in  the 
Western  Savings  Fund  is  summarized  as  follows:  (From 
October,  1906,  to  March,  1907)  "In  2,785  open  accounts, 
72  accounts  were  opened  by  colored  persons.  The  books 
would  show,  approximately,  1,333  accounts  with  Negroes. 


110  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

The  percentage  of  money  deposited  is  .1162.  If  this  applies 
to  $20,072,417,  our  total  deposit  in  line  to  date,  would  show 
$268,101  to  be  the  aggregate  amount  of  deposits  by  Ne- 
groes. The  Philadelphia  Savings  Fund,  which  is  the  oldest 
in  the  state,  reported  that  2,021  Negroes  opened  new  ac- 
counts in  1905,  and  2,000  in  the  year  1906,  which  were  4.2 
per  cent,  of  the  total  deposits  for  these  two  years.  This 
bank  had  a  total  deposit  on  January  ist,  1907,  of  $95,966,- 
863.34.  If  the  per  cent,  of  depositors  holds  good  for  the 
percentage  of  deposits,  the  share  of  the  Negroes  would  be 
4.2  per  cent,  or  $3,610,608.26.  In  the  Starr  Savings  Bank, 
of  the  15,142  open  accounts  in  1906,  about  thirty  per  cent, 
were  of  Negroes.  In  these  banks,  the  majority  of  Negro 
depositors  are  women  and  99  per  cent,  can  read  and  write. 
The  majority  are  domestic  and  unskilled  workers.  There 
are  other  banks  in  Philadelphia  and  all  over  the  state  which 
have  savings  of  Negroes  and  it  is  impossible  to  estimate 
the  total. 

An  increasing  number  of  Negroes  are  investing  their 
savings  in  stocks  and  bonds,  in  business  enterprises,  etc. 
Several  Negroes  own  Pennsylvania  Railroad  stock  and 
some  own  stock  in  the  United  States  Steel  Corporation. 
Many  own  real  estate  in  the  South  and  in  other  Northern 
states. 

THE  CHURCH  AND  SECRET  SOCIETIES 


Because  of  the  place  occupied  by  religion  in  the  life  of 
the  African  Negro  and  of  the  American  slaves,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  the  church  should  be  the  first  independent 
organization   developed   among   them.     The   first   separate 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  111 

Negro  church,  with  a  Negro  pastor,  was  established  in 
Philadelphia  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
The  first  organization  of  several  distinct  Negro  churches 
into  an  independent  denomination  of  Negro  Christians  was 
also  formed  in  Philadelphia  in  1816. 

The  census  of  1890  was  incomplete  regarding  the  sta- 
tistics of  Negro  churches  from  the  fact  that  many  Negro 
churches  were  under  the  supervision  of  bodies  which  made 
in  their  returns  no  distinction  as  to  color.  Thus  for  Penn- 
sylvania, no  colored  Baptist  Churches  were  reported  as  such 
and  no  separation  is  made  of  the  Negroes  who  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Episcopal,  Presbyterian  and  Catholic  churches. 
The  whole  number  of  colored  church  organizations  given 
in  Pennsylvania  was  282.  These  had  234  church  edifices, 
with  seating  capacity  of  77,865,  also  25  halls  with  a  seating 
capacity  of  3,025.  The  membership  was  26,753  persons 
and  their  church  property  was  valued  at  $1,156,408.  The 
census  gave  the  membership  of  Methodist  bodies  in  Penn- 
sylvania as  22,166,  the  number  of  church  organizations 
among  them  as  179,  having  189  church  edifices  and  20  halls 
with  a  combined  seating  capacity  of  66,200  persons.  The 
Baptists  of  Pennsylvania  were,  however,  as  large  as  the 
Methodists  in  1890,  if  not  larger.  But  allowing  that  the 
Baptists  were  in  1890  equal  to  the  Methodists,  there  were 
in  all  probability  then  in  the  state  at  least  400  churches, 
having  about  40,000  colored  communicants,  with  450  church 
edifices  and  halls  valued  at  not  less  than  $2,000,000.  The 
census  of  churches  now  being  taken  ought  to  correct  this 
error,  and  properly  separate  the  Negro  churches. 

In  the  whole  state  of  Pennsylvania  there  were  in  1890, 
1,726,640  communicants  out  of  a  population  of  5,258,113  or 
32.8  per  cent. ;  while  by  the  evidently  incorrect  count,  23.9 
per  cent,  of  the  Negro  population  were  members  of  some 


112  The  Ne&ro  In  Pennsylvania 

religious  organization.  By  the  corrected  estimate  of  Negro 
church  members,  at  least  37.2  per  cent,  of  the  race  in  the 
state  are  members  of  the  church. 

The  principal  denominations  represented  in  the  state 
are:  Regular  Baptist  (colored)  ;  African  Methodist  Episco- 
pal; African  Methodist  Episcopal  Zion;  American  Union 
Protestant  Methodist;  Colored  Methodist  Episcopal 
(North);  Protestant  Episcopal;  Presbyterian;  Congrega- 
tional ;  Roman  Catholic,  and  the  Church  of  God.  The  first 
five  are  entirely  under  Negro  supervision,  and  represent  the 
largest  percentage  of  the  membership. 

The  Baptist  denomination  has  the  largest  number  of 
members.  The  first  church  of  this  denomination  was  estab- 
lished in  1809  at  Philadelphia.  For  three-quarters  of  a  cen- 
tury the  Baptists  as  a  rule  had  the  less  influential  and  intel- 
ligent class  of  Negroes  in  its  membership  and  held  rather 
an  insignificant  place  among  the  churches  of  the  state.  Dur- 
ing the  present  generation,  however,  the  Baptist  denomina- 
tion has  taken  the  front  rank  among  Pennsylvania's  Negro 
churches,  both  as  to  number  of  churches  and  influence. 
The  increase  of  the  influence  of  the  Baptist  church  has  been 
due  chiefly  to  the  influx  of  Negroes  from  Virginia,  where 
the  Baptist  denomination  was  probably  the  first  established 
among  Negroes  and  where  it  is  to-day  stronger  than  any 
other  denomination.  Many  of  the  ministers  of  this  church 
are  Virginians.  The  Baptist  church  may  truly  be  called 
the  church  of  the  people.  There  are  in  the  state  at  least 
six  Baptist  churches  with  a  thousand  or  more  members, 
and  tw^o  with  more  than  two  thousand  members. 

In  1813,  there  were  six  Negro  churches  in  Philadelphia; 
one  Episcopal  church,  the  largest,  with  560  piembers ; 
three  Methodist  Churches,  with  1,426  members;  one  Pres- 
byterian  Church,   300  members;   and   one   Baptist   Church 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  113 

with  80  members.  In  1838,  there  were  16  churches  in  Phil- 
adelphia, of  which  eight  were  Methodist,  having  2,860  mem- 
bers ;  four  were  Baptist,  with  700  members ;  two  were  Pres- 
byterian, with  325  members ;  one  was  a  Lutheran  Church 
with  10  members,  and  an  Episcopal  Church  with  100  mem- 
bers. The  total  value  of  the  property  in  1838  was  $114,000 
of  which  the  Methodists  owned  $50,000  worth ;  the  Episco- 
palians, $36,000  worth;  the  Presbyterians,  $20,000  worth,' 
the  Baptists,  $4,200  and  the  Lutherans,  $3,000  worth. 

In  1907,  there  were  in  Philadelphia  31  Baptist  Churches, 
a  third  of  which  were  established  during  the  past  ten  years; 
in  Pittsburg  there  are  about  20  Baptist  Churches,  the  ma- 
jority of  which  were  established  during  the  past  decade. 

The  Methodists  are  the  oldest  distinctively  Negro  de- 
nomination in  the  state  and  country.  The  African  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church  was  established  in  Philadelphia 
in  1816,  being  constituted  by  16  delegates  representing 
churches  at  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  Salem  and  Attleboro, 
New  Jersey.  Richard  Allen,  of  Bethel  Church,  Philadel- 
phia, was  chosen  Bishop  and  Philadelphia  was  selected  as 
the  headquarters  of  the  church.  Since  that  time  the  A.  M.  E. 
Church  has  grown  to  about  600,000  members,  with  organi- 
zations in  nearly  every  State  in  the  United  States,  Canada 
and  the  West  Indies  and  West  and  South  Africa.  It  had 
in  1908  seventeen  living  Bishops,  all  of  whom  are  Negroes. 
This  church  has  been  very  intimately  connected  with  the 
development  of  Negroes  of  Pennsylvania.  During  the  early 
years  of  its  existence,  it  planted  preaching  stations  in  nearly 
every  community  where  there  were  any  considerable  num- 
ber of  Negroes.  During  the  period  prior  to  the  Civil  War 
it  was  the  chief  church  to  minister  to  the  fugitive  slaves 
and  manumitted  slaves  from  the  South.  It  started  the 
first  Negro  college  in  the  North,  even  before  slavery  was 
8 


114  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

abolished  and  it  founded  in  1852  what  is  now  the  oldest 
Negro  newspaper  in  the  country,  and  in  1884  the  A.  M.  E. 
Church  Review,  now  the  oldest  and  largest  Negro  maga- 
zine. During  the  period  before  the  war,  its  ministers  were 
among  the  most  aggressive  and  influential  Negroes  in  the 
state,  interested  in  most  movements  for  the  uplift  of  the 
race  and  consulted  frequently  by  the  whites  who  were  in- 
terested in  the  people  of  color.  Since  the  Civil  War,  and 
the  incoming  of '  large  numbers  of  immigrants  from  the 
South,  the  A.  M.  E.  Church,  though  increasing  in  actual 
numbers,  has  gradually  surrendered  its  leadership  to  the 
Baptist  Church.  There  are  at  present  organizations  of  the 
A.  M.  E.  Church  in  more  than  a  hundred  cities  and  towns 
with  an  aggregate  membership  of  approximately  15,000 
persons. 

The  A.  M.  E.  Zion  Church  began  a  distlECtive  denomina- 
tion in  New  York,  New  Haven,  Connecticut  and  Philadelphia. 
The  Philadelphia  church,  which  helped  to  form  this  denomi- 
nation, was  established  in  1813.  In  Philadelphia  and  Har- 
risburg,  where  two  of  its  oldest  churches  are,  this  denomi- 
nation, like  the  A.  M.  E.  Church,  exercised  considerable  in- 
fluence upon  the  Negroes  In  the  early  days.  The  denomina- 
tion now  had  in  1908  eight  living  Bishops,  all  Negroes,  and 
about  500,000  members  in  the  United  States.  The  headquar- 
ters of  its  Financial,  Missionary  and  Church  Extension  De- 
partments, are  located  in  Philadelphia.  There  are  churches 
in  about  fifty  cities  and  towns  in  Pennsylvania,  and  the 
membership  in  the  State  is  about  5000. 

The  Colored  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is  the  third 
independent  organization.  This  denomination  was  founded 
in  Georgia  in  1870,  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
South,  which  set  apart  its  Negro  members  into  a  separate 
independent  organization.     This  church  has  a  very   small 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  115 

representation  in  Pennsylvania.  In  1890  there  were  six  or- 
ganizations having  247  members,  2  worshipping  in  church 
edifices  and  4  in  halls.  The  church  at  large  is  located  in 
the  South  and  has  7  Bishops  and  about  300,000  members. 

The  Church  of  God  has  a  strong  organization  in  Phila- 
delphia, having  possibly  a  thousand  members.  The  Bishop 
of  this  church  is  a  Negro.  It  is  popularly  known  as  the 
foot  washers,  because  the  practice  of  washing  feet.  A  sys- 
tem of  church  stores  has  been  organized,  and  receives  lib- 
eral patronage  from  the  members,  who  hold  some  things 
in  common  and  are  supposed  to  give  one-tenth  of  their  in- 
come. Besides  these  there  are  other  churches,  which  are 
under  the  general  government  of  whites.  These  are  the 
Episcopal,  Congregational,  Presbyterian  and  Roman  Catho- 
lic Churches.  They  have  separate  church  organizations  for 
Negroes  but  no  separate  general  organizations.  The  his- 
tory of  these  churches  extends  far  back,  the  first  Episcopal 
Church  being  established  in  1794  and  the  first  Presbyterian 
in  1806.  These  denominations,  like  the  Methodists,  played 
a  very  large  part  in  the  early  history  of  the  Negroes. 
They  appealed  especially  to  the  more  intelligent  class  of  Ne- 
groes. But  with  the  exception  of  the  Catholics,  they  are 
of  proportionately  less  influence  than  formerly,  for  they 
have  not  been  able  to  hold  a  large  portion  of  the  immigrant 
Negroes  who,  as  has  been  said,  have  gone  largely  to  the 
Baptist  Church.  There  are  18  Negro  clergymen,  who  were 
in  1908,  members  of  the  Presbyteries  in  Pennsylvania,  14 
of  whom  have  charges  and  4  have  not.  In  1908  there  were 
14  Presbyterian  Churches  in  the  State,  4  of  which  were  in 
Philadelphia,  and  i  each  in  Harrisburg,  Pittsburg,  Read- 
ing, Carlisle,  Chester,  West  Chester,  Oxford,  York,  Cham- 
bersburg  and  Welsh  Mountains.  The  total  membership  of  the 
Negro  Presbyterian  Churches  was  1843  in  1908,  more  than 


116  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

half  of  which  was  in  Philadelphia.  The  total  valuation  of 
property  is  $190,000,  $112,000  of  which  is  in  Philadelphia, 
The  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  has  in  the  State  eight 
churches,  six  being  in  Philadelphia,  one  in  Allegheny  and 
one  in  Chester.  The  total  membership  at  the  last  meeting 
of  Episcopalians  was  1104. 

The  church  is  an  important  economic  organization 
among  Negroes.  It  owns  in  Pennsylvania  more  than  three 
million  dollars  worth  of  property,  and  its  income  is  not  less 
than  a  quarter  of  a  million  dollars  a  year.  In  Philadelphia 
alone,  within  a  year,  there  have  been  two  purchases  of 
church  buildings,  at  from  $20,000  to  $75,000,  and  a  new  Ne- 
gro church  erected  at  a  cost  of  $90,000.  The  Negro  minis- 
ter in  Pennsylvania,  though  to  a  less  degree  than  formerly, 
is  still  an  important  personage  in  the  upward  economic 
movement  of  Negroes  in  the  State.  The  largest  building 
and  loan  association  among  Negroes  was  organized  by  a 
Presbyterian  minister,  and  a  minister  is  on  the  board  of 
nearly  every  incorporated  business  in  the  State.  The  first 
industrial  school  in  the  State  was  organized  by  a  minister, 
and  the  two  that  are  now  operated  by  Negroes  are  support- 
ed largely  by  the  Church.  Most  of  the  other  private  schools 
in  the  State  are  the  direct  outgrowth  of  activity  in  the 
churches.  Most  of  the  benevolent  societies  have  connec- 
tion with  the  Church ;  and  all  of  the  insurance  societies  save 
perhaps  one  or  two,  grew  out  of  church  activity.  There  is 
hardly  an  activity  which  is  uplifting  in  its  purpose,  which 
does  not  originate  in  or  later  find  some  connection  with  the 
Church.  Still  most  of  the  churches  are  in  debt  and  find  it 
difficult  to  engage  in  many  social  activities  which  do  not  in- 
crease their  income.  Thus  a  large  field  of  eflfective  social 
work  is  quite  neglected  chiefly  because  of  lack  of  money. 

On  the  social  side,  the    Church  is  still  the  chief  institu- 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  111 

tion.  Here  strangers  come  and  are  introduced  and  find 
ready  welcome.  In  a  large  city  like  Philadelphia  or  Pitts- 
burg, where  men  are  busy  and  time  is  valuable,  the  incom- 
ing immigrant  from  the  South  would  be  at  a  great  loss  had 
he  not  the  church  to  which  to  go,  at  first,  at  least.  These 
institutions  have  sociables  nearly  every  night  in  the  week, 
either  in  the  church  house  or  in  the  homes  of  the  members. 
Concerts,  tableaux  and  light  operas  are  given  in  Negro 
churches,  which  introduces  all  kinds  of  talent  to  the  Negro 
public.  Negro  lecturers,  elocutionists  and  other  entertain- 
ers find  the  easiest  way  to  reach  the  people  is  through  the 
Church.  The  Church  is  used  for  public  meetings  of  vari- 
ous kinds.  If  the  Business  Men's  League,  or  the  Mechan- 
ics' Association  want  to  reach  the  people  they  go  to  the 
church.  Nor  is  politics  barred.  Some  of  the  largest  politi- 
cal meetings  are  held  in  churches — though  the  practice  is 
growing  less  prevalent — and  clergymen  are  among  the  most 
influential  Negro  political  leaders.  The  only  Negro  mem- 
ber of  the  State  Republican  Committee  is  a  Baptist  clergy- 
man, who  has  one  of  the  largest  churches  in  Philadelphia. 
In  all  social  movements  it  is  the  Church  which  is  expect- 
ed to  take  a  leading  part,  and  it  generally  does.  Any  move- 
ment concerning  the  interests  of  humanity  and  the  inter- 
ests of  the  Negro  in  particular,  finds  audience  in  the  Negro 
church. 

Some  churches  are  attempting  special  systematic  so- 
cial work.  One  of  the  most  successful  of  these,  is  the 
Berean  Presbyterian  Church  in  Philadelphia,  of  which  Rev. 
Matthew  Anderson,  a  graduate  of  Oberlin  and  Princeton, 
is  pastor.  The  church  was  founded  in  1880^  and  located  in 
a  part  of  the  city  where  but  few  Negroes  lived.  In  1884 
the  Berean  Kindergarten  was  started.  It  has  enrolled  over 
800  pupils  since  its  beginning.     In  1888  the  Berean  Build- 


118  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

ing  and  Loan  Association,  whose  work  has  already  been 
mentioned,  was  formed.  In  1894,  the  Berean  Seaside 
Home  was  opened  at  Point  Pleasant,  New  Jersey,  provid- 
ing a  quiet  resort,  where  Negroes  of  refinement  will  not 
come  in  contact  with  the  unpleasant  prejudices  which  pre- 
vail at  many  seaside  places.  The  Home  accommodates 
about  fifty  persons.  In  1897,  the  Berean  Bureau  of  Mutual 
Help  was  started,  and  in  ten  years  has  given  employment 
to  over  seven  hundred  persons. 

In  1899  the  Berean  Manual  Training  and  Industrial 
School  was  started.  In  1900  the  Berean  Educational  Con- 
ference was  established,  under  whose  auspices  such  leaders  \ 
as  ex-President  Cleveland,  Hon.  W.  N.  Ashman,  J.  William 
Martin,  Robert  E.  Pattison  have  spoken.  In  1904  the  pas- 
tor of  the  church  started  the  Berean  Seaside  Conference,  ; 
and  in  1906,  the  Berean  Trades  Association,  and  in  1908, 
the  Berean  Social  and  Economical  Conference.  Many  other  * 
churches  are  doing  similar  work,  but  in  a  less  extensive 
way.  In  Philadelphia,  Calvary  M.  E.  Church,  Bethel  A. 
M.  E.  Church,  Zion  Baptist,  First  Baptist,  Central  Baptist, 
and  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  the  Crucifixion 
have  institutional  features  more  or  less  developed.  The 
last  named  church  has  gone  farther  than  most  Negro 
churches  in  its  dealing  with  the  amusement  question.  It 
has  gone  against  the  general  view  of  Negro  Christians  in 
establishing  a  poolroom  and  evenings  for  dancing.  The 
First  Baptist,  has  through  its  Minute  Men's  Association, 
purchased  a  building  especially  for  work  among  men,  and 
through  its  Charity  Aid  Society,  purchased  property  for  a 
home  for  aged  persons. 

The  purely  religious  work  of  the  church  consists  chiefly 
of  preaching  and  prayer  meeting  and  an  annual  or  semi- 
annual ''revival."     In  both  preaching  and  prayer,  emphasis 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  119 

is  put  upon  the  emotional,  though  to  much  less  extent  than 
formerly ;  the  average  Christian  thinks  that  he  fulfills  his 
religious  duty  by  "feeling  good."  The  Negroes'  religion 
is  largely  personal ;  they  seek  chiefly  for  communion  with 
God;  they  like  to  ''talk  with  God,"  "to  feel  His  spirit;" 
their  prayers  consist  largely  of  confessions  of  sin  in  gen- 
eral and  expressions  of  humility,  emphasizing  God's  judg- 
ment and  His  wrath  and  begging  His  forgiveness.  They 
nearly  always  end  with  fervent  expressions  anticipatory  of 
the  glories  of  heaven  and  the  joys  of  the  after-life.  When 
the  religion  of  the  Negro  leaves  the  subjective  and  per- 
sonal, and  takes  on  the  objective  and  social,  it  expresses  it- 
self chiefly  in  giving  to  the  church  and  to  the  poor  and  un- 
fortunate, and  visiting  the  sick,  and  helping  to  bury  the 
dead.  It  is  quite  difficult  for  anyone  who  has  not  kept  in 
very  close  touch  with  the  Negro  church  to  realize  the 
amount  of  casual  charity  done  by  Negro  church  members. 
Many  times  they  give  a  pa?t  of  their  last  dollar  to  the 
church  and  to  the  poor.  "Give  till  you  feel  it,"  is  an  expres- 
sion often  heard  from  the  Negro  pulpit,  and  not  seldom 
obeyed  by  the  faithful  Negro  Christian.  Nor  is  it  an  un- 
common thing  for  the  hard  worked  Negro  cook,  or  washer 
woman,  or  housewife,  after  doing  service  from  ten  to  four- 
teen hours  a  day,  to  visit  the  sick  and  sit  up  nearly  all  night 
with  the  distressed.  With  organized  charity,  however,  the 
average  Negro  Christian,  not  unlike  the  average  white 
Christian,  has  not  yet  harmonized  his  religion.  That  sponta- 
neous and  indiscriminate  giving  is  the  only  real  charity,  is 
the  belief  of  the  majority.  Yet  the  beneficial  society  is  a  very 
frequent  attachment  to  the  large  Negro  church  and  tends 
more  or  less  to  systematize  its  benevolence,  while  also  a 
few  churches  have  old  age  pensioners  who  are  given  regu- 
lar allowances  per  week. 


120  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

As  to  moral  character,  the  church  is  still  the  insti- 
tution of  respectability,  as  well  as  piety.  Generally  speak- 
ing, the  average  of  morality  in  the  Negro  church  is  much 
higher  than  the  average  outside  of  the  church.  Though 
the  church  cannot  rigidly  enforce  all  of  its  laws,  yet  its  re- 
straining influence  in  the  grosser  evils,  and  among  the 
greater  portion  of  its  members  is  daily  evicient.  Time  was 
when  the  churches  protested  chiefly  against  dancing,  thea- 
tregoing  and  card  playing.  Most  of  the  churches  still 
protest  against  these  things,  but  have  also  increased  their 
protest  against  greater  evils.  In  the  character  of  Negro 
ministers,  there  has  been  a  notable  improvement  both  in 
education  and  morality,  although  there  is  still  a  great  deal 
lacking.  The  standards  of  piety  known  to  the  ignorant  Ne- 
gro, those  of  loud  and  long  prayers,  frequent  shouting  and 
constant  church  attendance,  while  still  prevalent,  are  be- 
coming less  generally  accepted  than  formerly.  When  it. is 
remembered  that  the  church  'takes  all  who  come  to  it  on 
their  own  word,  on  ''profession  of  faith,"  that  is  on  good 
intention  and  not  on  a  certificate  of  past  good  character, 
but  on  their  ''conversion,"  it  is  easy  to  see  how  its  progress 
in  morality  must  of  necessity  be  slow.  Nor  could  it  be  ex- 
pected that  the  Negro's  religion  would  develop  out  of  pro- 
portion to  his  intelligence,  or  his  economic  condition.  Prog- 
ress in  religion  and  in  morals,  like  progress  in  education 
and  industry,  is  slow,  notwithstanding  the  highly  super- 
natural element  in  the  religion. 

But  with  those  churches  which  have  not  been  able  to 
hold  the  masses,  but  have  appealed  to  the  more  cultured 
classes  of  Negroes,  there  has  been,  as  is  to  be  expected,  a 
more  rapid  progress,  especially  in  the  conduct  of  religious 
service.  Regarding  one  of  this  group  of  churches  Mr.  Ar- 
thur Shadwell,  an  Englishman,  visiting  Philadelphia,  writes 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  121 


in  his  book,  "Industrial  Efficiency":  "I  have  no  informa- 
tion on  the  subject  but  it  appears  to  me  that  Philadelphia 
is  the  home  of  the  colored  aristocracy.  There  are  eighteen 
African  Methodist  Episcopal  Churches.  I  attended  service 
at  one  of  them  on  a  Sunday,  and  found  a  striking  contrast 
with  others  I  had  attended  in  the  South.  The  service  was 
practically  indistinguishable  from  a  high  church  (not  ritual- 
istic), Anglican,  one  in  England,  except  the  surpliced  choir 
was  formed  by  women.  The  sermon,  the  tone  and  manner 
of  the  whole  service  and  the  demeanor  of  the  congregation 
reminded  me  of  St.  Mary  Abbotts,  or  any  church  of  that 
moderately  high  order  which  is  now  so  general  in  England. 
The  signs  of  refinement,  taste  and  culture  were  striking. 
Every  Sunday  I  spent  in  the  States,  I  made  it  a  point  of 
going  to  as  many  churches  of  different  kinds  as  I  could  get 
in,  and  my  experience  ranges  from  a  pure  specimen  of  Ne- 
gro fervor  in  Columbia,  S.  C,  to  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral  in 
New  York,  and  Trinity  Church,  Boston,  which  corresponds 
(say)  with  St.  Margaret's,  Westminster,  and  is  the  resort 
of  the  intellectual  aristocracy.  The  African  service  in 
Philadelphia  w^as  no  whit  less  refined." 

The  secret  orders  come  next  to  the  church  in  social  im- 
portance, and  they,  too,  have  an  African  foundation.  But 
their  chief  hold  on  the  people  is  not  so  much  their  secrec}^ 
as  their  sick  benefit  and  life  insurance  features.  The  prin- 
cipal orders  represented  are  the  Odd  Fellows,  Masons,  True 
Reformers,  Knights  of  Pythias,  Elks,  Knights  of  Tabor 
and  Gallilean  Fishermen. 

The  Grand  United  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  is  the  largest 
secret  organization  in  the  State.  It  was  introduced  into 
this  country  from  England  in  March,  1843,  when  the  Philo- 
mathean  Lodge,  No.  646,  was  established  in  New  York 
City.     The  first  lodge  in  Pennsylvania  and  the  third  in  the 


122  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 


United  States,  was  Unity  Lodge,  No.  711,  established  in 
Philadelphia,  May  14,  1844.  According  to  the  Journal  of 
Proceedings  of  the  biennial  session  of  the  Grand  United 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  which  met  in  October,  1906,  there 
were  4643  lodges  of  Odd  Fellows  in  the  country,  with  a 
membership  of  186,108.  The  complete  statistics  of  the  or- 
der were  as  follows,  in  1906: 

Name.  Lodges.  Members. 

Active   Lodges    4,643  186,108 

Active   Households    21,636  79,343 

P.  G.  M.  Councils   274  5,210 

Juvenile   Societies    395  12,245 

Patriarchies    142  142 

D.  G.  Lodges   39 

District  Households    26 

Total  number  of  lodges 8,155  285,931 

Increase  since   1904   1,641  66,190 

The  headquarters  of  the  Odd  Fellows  are  in  Philadel- 
phia, where  they  have  erected  a  six-story  building,  at  a  cost 
of  $125,000.  The  Odd  Fellows'  "Journal,"  the  national  or- 
gan of  the  order,  is  published  here.  In  the  State  in  1906, 
there  were  105  lodges. 

The  Grand  United  Order  of  True  Reformers  was  es- 
tablished in  1882,  in  Richmond,  Virginia,  by  a  Methodist 
preacher.  It  is  not  merely  a  secret  order,  but  it  has  as  its 
chief  object  the  economic  elevation  of  the  Negro  race  in 
America.  To  that  end  it  has  established  an  insurance  de- 
partment, a  bank,  hotels,  mercantile  establishments,  a  news- 
paper, an  old  folks'  home,  and  other  institutions  of  uplift. 
According  to  the  yearly  report  in  1903,  the  receipts  of  the 
financial  department  of  the  order  were  $173,440.70;  of  the 
record  department,  $47,851.26;  of  the  supply  department, 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  123 

$21,40375;  from  rents  of  real  estate,  $27,219.86;  from  sales 
of  regalia,  $25,269.55.  The  receipts  of  the  bank  for  this  year 
were  $853,591.53.  The  value  of  the  real  estate  owned  by 
the  society  was  given  at  $367,050.  The  growth  of  the  True 
Reformers  in  Pennsylvania  is  due  chiefly  to  the  heavy  mi- 
gration of  Negroes  from  Virginia.  The  headquarters  for 
the  State  are  in  Philadelphia.  In  1903  there  were  reported 
161  lodges  in  the  State,  in  fifteen  counties.  Since  then, 
however,  the  True  Reformers  have  more  than  doubled  their 
membership  in  this  State. 

The  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Lodge  of  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted Masons  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  according  to 
the  ninety-second  annual  communication  in  1906,  compris- 
ed 68  lodges,  having  239  members,  and  were  represented  in 
thirty-seven  places  in  the  State.  Their  headquarters  are  in 
Philadelphia,  where  they  own  a  four-story  hall. 

EDUCATION. 


In  most  of  the  colonies  but  little  effort  was  made  to 
train  the  Negroes.  As  late  as  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  when  they  numbered  at  least  a  quarter  of  a  mil- 
lion, more  than  half  of  whom  were  free,  there  is  no  record 
of  a  school  for  Negroes.  As  in  other  efforts  for  the  eleva- 
tion of  the  Negro,  so  in  education,  Pennsylvania  was  the 
leader.  The  Quakers  were  among  the  first  to  give  atten- 
tion to  them.  In  1750  Anthony  Benezet,  a  French  Quaker, 
opened  the  first  school  for  Negroes,  in  Philadelphia,  and 
for  more  than  thirty  years,  was  the  ardent  supporter  of  the 
cause  of  Negro  education.     When  he  died  in  1784  he  left 


124  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

possibly  the  first  bequest  for  the  education  of  the  Negroes. 
The  next  step  was  taken  by  the  Friends'  Monthly  Meeting 
of  Philadelphia,  in  January,  1770,  when  it  was  decided  to 
establish  a  school  for  ''giving  to  the  children  of  free  Ne- 
groes and  mulattoes  the  preference  and  the  opportunity  of 
being  taught  clear  of  expense  to  their  parents."  Accord- 
ingly the  school  was  opened  June,  1770,  with  twenty-three 
colored  children  and  became  the  foundation  of  the  system 
of  private  "charity  schools"  conducted  by  the  Quakers. 
With  the  bequests  from  Benezet  and  others,  the  original 
school  was  enabled  to  accommodate  more  pupils  and  to  of- 
fer night  courses.  In  1784  the  Raspberry  Alley  School, 
which  continues  its  existence  to  this  day,  was  established 
and  became  one  of  the  most  useful  of  these  Quaker  schools. 
In  1827  the  Infant  School  was  established  at  Clifton  and 
South  Streets,  and  was  in  existence  in  1836.  In  1837  the 
Institute  for  Colored  Youths  was  established;  in  1838  the 
Adelphia  School  was  established  on  Wager  Street;  in  1848: 
the  School  for  the  Destitute  on  Lombard,  above  Seventh 
Street,  and  in  1850,  the  Sheppard  School,  on  Randolph, 
above  Parrish  Street.  Besides  the  schools  directly  under  1 
the  Quakers,  there  were  semi-public  schools  and  schools  ^ 
connected  with  the  benevolent  and  reformatory,  institu- 
tions. Among  these  the  earliest  was  the  Orphans'  Shelter, 
established  in  1822,  on  Thirteenth  Street,  above  Callowhill. 
In  1850  the  school  at  the  House  of  Refuge  was  started,  and 
in  1855  the  Home  for  Colored  Children  on  Girard,  above 
Ridge  Avenue.  Among  the  early  institutions,  there  were 
also  private  schools,  which  were  taught  by  Negroes.  These 
were  among  the  very  earliest  schools  and  show  a  healthy 
interest  of  the  better  class  of  Negroes  in  their  own  educa- 
tion. Absalom  Jones  taught  a  school  in  Philadelphia  be- 
fore 1800.     Most  of  the  Negro  churches  were  used  also  for 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  125 

school  purposes ;  indeed,  the  Negro  church-school  was  the 
forerunner  of  the  public  school.  In  1838,  there  were  re- 
ported thirteen  private  pay  schools,  of  which  ten  were 
taught  by  Negro  teachers.  In  1856  thirteen  of  them  were 
reported  as  still  in  existence.  These  schools  averaged  about 
twenty-five  pupils  each.  The  oldest  of  them  was  that  of 
Sarah  M.  Douglass,  which  was  established  in  1833,  and  had 
thirty  pupils.  The  next  was  established  in  1836  and  was 
conducted  by  Diana  Smith,  in  Prosperous  Alley.  The  other 
eight  Negro  private  schools  which  existed  in  1838  had  dis- 
appeared in  1856. 

The  public  schools  for  Negroes  were  started  fully  sev- 
enty years  after  the  first  private  schools.  In  1822,  the  first 
public  school  w^as  started  at  Sixth,  above  Lombard  Street. 
This  school  still  exists  and  is  known  as  the  James  Forten 
School.  To-day,  however,  it  is  chiefly  attended  by  Jews. 
In  1830,  the  Roberts  Vaux  Public  School  was  started  on 
what  was  then  called  Coates  Street,  near  Fifth;  in  1839  an 
ungraded  public  school  w^as  organized  in  Frankford ;  in 
1841,  the  Bannaker  Public  School  was  started  in  Paschall- 
ville.  The  same  year  a  primary  school  at  Sixth  and  Lom- 
bard Streets ;  in  1849,  the  Corn  Street  Ungraded  School.  In 
these  public  schools  there  were  doubtless  many  colored 
teachers.  In  1856  it  was  reported  that  the  public  schools 
were  improving  though  they  were  not  as  efficient  as  the  pri- 
vate charity  schools. 

With  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  United  States  and 
the  large  immigration  of  Negroes  to  the  State,  the  facilities 
furnished  by  private  sources  became  less  and  less  adequate, 
and  the  necessity  for  greater  public  interest  in  the  educa- 
tion of  Negroes  more  apparent.  Education  became  less  a 
matter  of  charity  than  of  recognized  public  necessity.  In 
the  last  forty  years  the  private  schools  have  gradually  tak- 


126  The  Negro  In  Pennsylvania 

en  a  less  prominent  place,  having  all  dissappeared  except  the 
higher  and  special  schools.  The  only  efforts  at  their  own 
education  now  in  existence  by  Negroes,  is  that  undertaken 
by  churches.  The  unendowed  charity  institutions  conduct- 
ed by  Quakers,  which  did  such  a  great  service  in  primary 
education  before  the  Civil  War,  have  also  passed  away. 
Those  which  have  endowment  have  found  that  the  public 
schools  have  been  much  better  prepared  than  they  to  do  the 
work.  Several  of  them  have  changed  their  courses  and 
those  which  have  not  done  so,  are  inefficient  as  compared 
with  the  public  schools. 

The  public  schools  existed  from  the  beginning  as  dis- 
tinctively Negro  schools  supported  by  public  funds.  There 
is  no  evidence  to  show  that  any  great  interest  was  taken 
in  these  schools  as  long  as  they  were  separate.  They  did 
not  have  the  best  teachers  nor  did  the  better  class  of  Ne- 
groes always  send  their  children  to  them.  In  1881,  how- 
ever, an  act  was  passed  abolishing  the  Negro  public  schools 
as  such,  and  giving  the  Negro  children  the  right  to  attend 
any  public  school  to  which  they  were  eligible  without  re- 
gard to  their  color.  This  act  opened  newer  opportunities 
to  Negro  children  all  over  the  State  and  stimulated  an  im- 
provement of  the  schools  which  Negroes  attended.  It  did 
not,  however,  break  up  the  already  existing  Negro  schools, 
nor  was  it  intended  to  do  so.  It  merely  made  it  illegal  to 
exclude  a  Negro  child  from  a  public  school  because  of  its 
color. 

In  1900  there  were  43,349  Negroes  of  school  age  in 
Pennsylvania,  of  whom  20,408  were  males  and  22,988  were 
females.  During  the  census  year  1900,  19,235  of  these  per- 
sons, or  44.7  per  cent,  attended  school.  The  total  school  at- 
tendance for  the  year  1909  was  19,573 — 93^7  males  and  10,- 
265  females,  distributed  as  to  age  as  follows :    Ninety-seven 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  121 

under  5  years  of  age,  6898  from  5  to  9  years,  9227  from  10 
to  14  years,  2610  from  15  to  20  years,  and  241,  21  years  and 
over.  Less  than  half  of  those  of  school  age  go  to  school  be- 
cause of  the  large  number  of  boys  and  girls  who  stop  to  go  to  work 
after  they  reach  the  age  of  14  years.  Of  the  19,573  Negroes 
attending  school  in  1900,  18,185,  or  92.7  per  cent,  attended 
school  six  months  or  more;  118  (58  boys  and  60  girls),  one 
month  or  less;  254  boys  and  250  girls  from  two  to  three 
months;  816  (318  boys  and  418  girls)  from  four  to  five 
months. 

Our  statistics  of  illiteracy  must  not  be  taken  for  the 
population  at  large,  as  showing  anything  as  to  capacity  for 
reading  and  writing.  They  show  rather,  the  relative  op- 
portunity for  learning.  When,  for  instance,  it  is  said  that 
the  Negroes  of  Pennsylvania  have  an  illiteracy  less  than 
that  of  the  Negroes  of  Mississippi,  it  does  not  mean  that 
they  are  any  better  or  brighter  than  the  Negroes  of  the 
Southern  States  but  merely  that  Pennsylvania  gives  educa- 
tional advantages  which  Mississippi  does  not  give. 

With  the  improving  of  school  opportunities  the  illiter- 
acy of  Negroes  is  steadily  being  cut  down.  In  1856  nearly 
half  of  the  adults  of  Philadelphia  could  not  read  or  write; 
in  1890  the  percentage  was  reduced  to  18  per  cent.,  and  in 
1900  was  about  11.8  per  cent.  The  illiteracy  of  Pennsyl- 
vania is  affected  by  the  migration  of  adult  Negroes  from  the 
South.  The  illiteracy  of  the  younger  persons  is  quite 
small ;  that  of  those  from  10  to  16  years  of  age  being  only 
2.5  per  cent.,  and  from  15  to  20  years  of  age,  about  6.5  per 
cent.  Moreover  the  illiteracy  of  the  Negroes  compares 
more  than  favorably  with  that  of  our  foreign  population. 
The  illiteracy  of  the  foreign  population  of  Pennsylvania  is 
increasing;  that  of  the  Negro  is  decreasing.  In  1880  the 
illiteracy  of  Pennsylvania's  foreign  population  was  15.1  per 


128  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

cent.;  of  Pennsylvania's  Negroes,  27.1  per  cent.;  in  1890, 
the  illiteracy  of  the  foreign-born  was  17.8  per  cent. ;  and 
that  of  the  Negro  17.8  per  cent.;  in  1900,  the  illiteracy  of 
Pennsylvania's  foreign-born  population  was  19.9  per  cent.,  J 
while  that  of  the  Negroes  of  the  State  was  15.1  per  cent. 
The  Negro  and  foreign  population  are  compared  as  to  illit- 
eracy in  the  following  table  taken  from  the  United  States 
Census  of  1900: 

ILLITERACY  OF  NEGROES  AND  FOREIGN  WHITES  IN  PENNSYLVANIA 
BY  AGE  PERIODS.    1900 

Negroes  Foreign  Whites 

Age  Periods  Population    Illiterates   Percent  Population   Illiterates  Percent 

10  to  14  years 12,037  299  2.5  31.393  2,643  84 

15  to  24  years 35,619  2,648  7.4  i57,4io  3<^,9'!>9  i9-6 

25  to  34  years 35.^62  4,074  11. 8  242,982  56,740  23.3 

?5  to  44  years 22,787  4,290  iS.S  207,148  42,997  20.8 

ic  to  4.i  years  and  over         105,787  11,111  10.7  6;,8,933  133,349  20.9 

Unknown 786  269         34.2  2,538  8  i  31.6 

45  years  and  over 22,444  7.951         35.4  321,118  57,556  17.9 

Total  over  10  years 128,945  19,532  15. i  962,589  i9i,7'-6  19.9 

The  illiteracy  of  the  foreign  immigrants  is  higher  than 
that  of  the  Negroes  at  every  age  period.  Negro  children 
from  10  to  14  years,  of  age,  have  among  them  only  2.5  per 
cent,  of  illiterates,  while  foreign  children  of  the  same  age 
have  more  than  three  times  as  large  a  percentage  of  illiter- 
ates, 8.4  per  cent.  From  15  to  24  years  of  age  the  illiteracy 
of  the  foreigner  is  more  than  twice  as  great  as  that  of  the 
Negro,  being  19.9  per  cent.,  as  against  7.4  per  cent.  From 
25  to  34,  the  per  cent,  of  the  illiteracy  of  the  foreigner  is 
23.3  per  cent.,  just  twice  the  percentage  of  the  Negro  at 
that  age  period,  11.8  per  cent.;  from  35  to  44  years  of  age, 
the  illiteracy  of  the  Negroes  is  18.8  per  cent.,  and  that  of 
the  foreign-born  is  20.8  per  cent.  The  younger  generation 
of  Negroes  who  were  born  since  the  close  of  the  Civil  War, 
varying  in  age  from  10  to  44  years,  inclusive,  have  among 
them  about  one-half  the  percentage  of  the  illiterates  as  have 
the  foreign  immigrants  of  the  same  age.     But  among  the 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  129 

older  generation  of  Negroes,  born  prior  to  the  Civil  War, 
there  are  proportionately  more  illiterates  than  among  the 
foreigners  of  the  same  age.  In  the  State  there  were  in  1900 
191,706  foreigners  and  19,532  Negroes  who  could  not  read 
and  write  their  names ;  there  were  133,349  illiterate  for- 
eigners and  11,311  illiterate  Negroes  under  45  years  of  age. 
In  all  there  were  ten  illiterate  foreigners  to  one  illiterate 
Negro;  and  twelve  illiterate  foreigners  between  the  ages  of 
10  and  45,  to  one  illiterate  Negro  of  that  age.  The  rapid 
decrease  of  the  illiteracy  of  the  Negroes  is  due  to  the  su- 
perior educational  advantages  which  they  have  in  the  State 
of  Pennsylvania  as  compared  with  the  South.  A  very  im- 
portant factor  also  is  the  compulsory  educational  law,  which, 
though  not  rigidly  enough  enforced  in  the  large  cities,  is  a 
great  advantage  to  the  child  whose  parents  are  indifferent 
as  to  education. 

Inquiry  was  instituted  among  forty-four  colleges  in  the 
State  to  find  out  just  to  what  extent  they  had  been  of  in- 
fluence upon  the  life  of  the  Pennsylvania  Negroes.  One 
of  these,  Lincoln  University  was  established  especially  for 
Negroes.  Of  the  remaining  forty-three,  Negroes  had  at- 
tended but  few,  mainly  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  the 
Western  University  of  Pennsylvania,  Temple  College,  Al- 
legheny College  at  Meadville,  Dickinson  College  at  Car- 
isle,  Washington  and  Jeflferson  College  at  Washington. 
Sixteen  of  the  colleges  which  answered  inquiries  said  that 
they  had  never  had  any  Negro  students  whatever.  Two 
religious  institutions  replied  that  they  would  not  receive 
Negro  students,  one  saying:  "The  Moravian  Seminary  is 
exclusively  for  white  young  ladies ;"  the  other,  St.  Vincent's 
College,  Beatty,  Pennsylvania:  "We  would  not  take  any 
Negro  students  now."  The  secretary  of  the  Westminster 
College,  New  Wilmington,  after  stating  that  no  Negro  had 
9 


130  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

ever  entered,  adds :  *'It  has  been  the  policy  of  our  church  to 
make  Knoxville  (Tennessee)  College  our  denominational 
center  for  Negro  education."  Of  those  which  had  had  Ne- 
gro students,  the  following  replies  were  received :  From 
Beaver  College,  "We  have  never  had  any  Negroes  in  our 
college  with  the  exception  of  a  very  few  in  the  music  de- 
partment, who  were  always  good  students ;  none  ever  grad- 
uated here."  From  the  Moravian  College  and  Theological 
Seminary,  Bethlehem,  "We  once  had  a  mulatto,  J.  C. 
Moore,  son  of  a  missionary  from  Demarara,  South  America, 
who  came  to  us  from  the  college  at  Georgetown,  Demarara; 
he  spent  four  years  here  (1896-1900),  taking  a  two  years' 
theological  course,  and  showing  fair  ability."  Susquehanna 
University,  Selinsgrove,  had  one  Negro  from  Africa  about 
twenty-two  years  ago.  Nothing  more  is  said  of  him. 
Juniata  College,  Huntingdon,  has  enrolled  only  two  Ne- 
groes— "a  young  man  in  the  preparatory  work,  about  ten 
years  ago ;  and  a  young  lady  in  the  preparatory  work,  about 
three  years  ago."  Nothing  more  is  said  of  them.  The  sec- 
retary of  Washington  and  Jefiferson  College,  Washington, 
writes:  "John  C  Asbury,  through  Freshman  year,  the  best 
of  all  our  colored  students,  studied  law  and  practiced  in 
Norfolk,  Virginia,  elected  District  Attorney;  of  Class  of  1885." 
(Mr.  Asbury  is  now  editor  of  the  Odd  Fellows'  Journal,  with 
headquarters  at  Philadelphia.)  Graduates:  (i)  F.  J.  LeMoyne 
Johnson,  '94;  M.  D.  University  of  Pennsylvania  '97:  died 
about  1900.  (2)  Frederick  Douglass  Johnson,  1901,  M.D.  (3) 
Welcome  T.  Jones,  M.D.,  now  practicing  at  Newport  News, 
Va.    A  few  others  have  been  in  college  for  a  while." 

Only  one  Negro  has  ever  been  a  student  of  Lehigh, 
and  he  died  about  a  year  after  entering.  One  student  at- 
tended Lebanon  Valley  College,  at  Annville,  graduating  in 
1902.    He  is  Charles  Alfred  Tennyson  Sumner,  now  a  teach- 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  131 


er  in  the  Albert  Academy,  Freetown,  West  Africa,  a  mis- 
sion school  under  the  United  Brethren  in  Christ.  One  Ne- 
gro has  graduated  from  Allegheny  College,  Meadville,  in 
1880.  He  is  William  Charles  Jason,  now  president  of  the 
Delaware  State  College;  he  has  since  had  the  degrees  of 
A.M.  and  D.  D.  conferred  upon  him.  From  Dickinson  Col- 
lege, the  following  comes:  ''I  know  of  but  one  Negro  grad- 
uate, namely,  Mr.  J.  R.  P.  Brock,  1901,  who  was  of  the  Phi 
Beta  Kappa  rank,  and  a  very  excellent  man;  now  teaching 
in  Baltimore,  Md."  The  dean  of  the  College  Department 
of  Temple  College,  writes:  ''There  have  been  Negro  stu- 
dents in  the  school  ever  since  it  has  been  opened.  We  had 
one  very  bright  student  graduate  from  the  Medical  School 
last  year.  He  passed  successfully  his  State  Board  examina- 
tion, and  is  now  practicing  in  this  city.  His  name  is  Jo- 
seph Paul  Hudgins.  G.  Edward  Dickerson,  this  city,  grad- 
uated in  1901  from  the  Law  School,  and  is,  I  believe,  very 
successful.  Miss  Elaine  Triggs  will  graduate  from  the  Do- 
mestic Art  Course  in  June,  1907;  and  Mr.  J.  T.  Winder  will 
complete  the  College  Preparatory  course,  expecting  to  en- 
ter Harvard  next  fall.  We  have  had  a  number  of  Negro 
students  in  our  Theological  School,  but  they  have  all,  or 
nearly  all,  dropped  by  the  wayside.  There  is  a  very  excep- 
tional student,  a  West  Indian,  taking  the  course  at  the  pres- 
ent time.  These  that  I  have  mentioned  have  all  held  their 
own  with  the  very  best  white  students."  Geneva  College, 
Beaver  Falls,  reports  Negro  students,  stating,  "We  have 
Negro  women  every  year.  When  in  school  we  find  that 
they  do  as  well  as  whites."  The  Pennsylvania  State  Col- 
lege reported  two  students,  but  no  graduates.  No  Negro 
women  have  ever  applied  for  admission  at  Bryn  Mawr.  A 
graduate  of  the  Central  High  School — Alain  LeRoy  Locke, 
of   Philadelphia,  won  the  Cecil  Rhodes   Scholarship  to  Ox- 


132  The  Negro  In  Pennsylvania 

ford  University,  England,  in  1907.  Mr.  Locke  graduated 
from  Harvard  in  the  Class  of  1907,  winning  the  Bowdoin 
prize.  From  the  College  and  Engineering  School  of  the 
Western  University  of  Pennsylvania,  of  Pittsburg,  there 
have  been  eight  graduates.  Tv^o  v^^ith  the  degree  of  A.B., 
B.S. ;  three  with  C.E. ;  and  two  with  E.E.  All  of  these  stu- 
dents were  beneficiaries  of  the  Avery  Scholarship  Fund,  es- 
tablished by  Charles  Avery.  These  scholarships  were 
twelve  in  number  and  provided  for  the  payment  of  $100 
upon  the  term  bill  of  the  beneficiaries  (who  must  be  color- 
ed males)  in  the  College,  or  Engineering  School.  Of  the 
above  graduates  the  Registrar  writes :  "Of  the  A.B.'s,  one 
is  studying  law,  the  other  is  editor  of  a  newspaper,  Charles- 
ton, W.  Va.  Of  the  engineers,  I  have  no  extended  personal 
knowledge.  I  believe,  however,  that  they  are  all  in  posi- 
tions of  a  character  corresponding  to  the  special  nature  of 
their  preparation.  One  of  them  has,  I  understand,  done 
some  original  work  in  the  lines  of  perfecting  railway  sig- 
nals. This  is  Mr.  W.  H.  Damond,  C.E.,  1893,  who  at  last 
accounts  was  with  the  Michigan  Central  Railroad."  At 
present  ten  of  the  Avery  scholarships  are  taken.  Besides 
these,  there  is  one  young  woman  in  the  College  Depart- 
ment. From  the  professional  schools,  especially  Medicine, 
there  have  been  a  dozen  or  more  graduates.  The  enroll- 
ment November,  1907,  was  26,  11  in  the  College  and  Engin- 
eering School,  9  in  the  Medical  School,  4  in  the  Pharma- 
ceutical, and  2  in  the  Law  School. 

In  1907  Negroes  were  enrolled  only  in  the  following- 
Colleges  :  Allegheny  College,  Meadeville,  which  has  two 
Negro  students ;  Geneva  College,  Beaver  Falls ;  Pennsyl- 
vania State  College,  Temple  College,  the  University  of 
Pennsyvania,  and  the  Western  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania.    The  colleges  of  the  State  evidently  have  had  but 


-«: 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  133 

small  influence  upon  the  Pennsylvania  Negroes.  Indeed, 
quite  as  many  Negroes  have  attended  and  graduated  from 
colleges  outside  of  Pennsylvania,  as  from  the  colleges  of 
their  native  State.  Harvard  University  has  had  several  Ne- 
gro students  from  Pennsylvania,  and  three  graduates;  so 
had  Oberlin  College,  and  several  smaller  colleges. 

More  Negroes  have  graduated  from  the  professional 
schools  than  from  the  colleges.  Twenty-six  have  gradu- 
ated from  the  Medical  Department  of  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania.  As  a  rule,  these  men  have  been  successful. 
One  Dr.  S.  P.  Lloyd,  of  Savannah,  Georgia,  wsls  appointed 
city  physician  of  his  native  town,  and  was  the  first  Negro 
in  the  South  to  hold  such  a  position.  Another,  Dr.  N.  F. 
Mossell,  established  the  Frederick  Douglass  Hospital  in 
Philadelphia.  There  are  at  present  five  medical  students, 
two  from  Pennsylvania;  the  others  from  the  South.  There 
have  been  five  Negroes  to  graduate  from  the  Legal  Depart- 
ment, who  are  practicing  in  Philadelphia.  Five  Negroes 
are  members  of  the  Department  of  Veterinary  Medicine, 
from  which  one  Negro  graduated  in  1897.  Two  Negroes 
have  been  granted  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy ;  one 
of  whom  is  L.  B.  Moore,  Dean  of  the  Teachers'  College  of 
Howard  University,  of  Washington,  D.  C,  and  the  other, 
Rev,  Pezavia  O'Connell,  District  Superintendent  of  the  M. 
E.  Church  in  Maryland.  Negroes  have  also  graduated  from 
the  Jefiferson  Medical  College,  Hahnemann,  and  the  Medico- 
Chirurgical  College,  Drexel  Institute,  the  Pennsylvania 
School  of  Industrial  Art,  and  have  studied  at  the  Academy 
of  the  Fine  Arts.  Henry  O.  Tanner,  the  Negro  Artist,  of 
Paris,  France,  studied  at  both  the  last  named  institutions, 
and  is  one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  the  former  students. 
Another  of  the  former  art  students  is  Miss  Vaux  Warrick, 
the  creator  of  a  set  of  models  of  150  characters  represent- 


134  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

ing  the  history  of  the  Negro  race  in  America,  for  which 
she  was  awarded  a  gold  medal  at  the  Jamestown  Exposi- 
tion. 

Although  the  private  primary  schools  have  generally 
disappeared  because  of  the  public  schools,  there  exists  a 
half  dozen  private  institutions  for  technical  and  secondary 
education,  such  as  is  given  by  the  State  only  to  a  limited  de- 
gree. The  oldest  and  most  prominent  of  these  are:  The 
Institute  for  Colored  Youths,  Cheyney ;  Lincoln  University, 
Chester  County;  the  Avery  Institute,  Pittsburg;  the  Berean 
Manual  Training  and  Industrial  School,  Philadelphia; 
Downingtown  Industrial  School,  and  the  Paoli  School, 
Paoli. 

The  Institute  for  Colored  Youths  has  held  a  unique 
place  in  the  history  of  Pennsylvania  Negroes,  and  especially 
those  of  Philadelphia.  Richard  Humphreys,  who  made  his 
wealth  from  slaves,  made  the  following  provision  in  his 
will,  dated  February  i8,  1829:  *T  give  and  bequeath  unto 
my  friends  *  *  *  the  sum  of  ten  thousand  dollars 
^  *  *  having  for  its  object  the  benevolent  design  of  in- 
structing the  descendants  of  the  African  race  in  school 
learning,  in  the  various  branches  of  the  mechanic  arts  and 
trades,  and  in  agriculture,  in  order  to  prepare,  fit  and  qualify 
them  to  act  as  teachers."  He  died  in  1832.  This  $10,000 
was  the  nucleus  for  the  Institute  for  Colored  Youths.  In 
1837,  the  institute  was  founded  and  located  in  Philadel- 
phia; in  1842  it  was  chartered  by  the  State.  In  1844,  Jono- 
than  Zane.gave  another  large  sum  to  the  institute.  From 
1846  to  185 1  not  much  was  done  except  the  conducting  of  a 
night  school.  In  185 1  buildings  were  erected  on  Lombard 
Street,  and  from  that  time  the  influence  of  the  institute  be- 
gan to  be  felt  all  over  the  city.  Mr.  Charles  L.  Reason,  of 
New  York,  one  of  the  best  educated  Negroes  of  his  day, 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  135 

was  made  principal  in  1852,  but  only  remained  till  1854, 
when  he  was  succeeded  by  Professor  Ebenezer  Don  Carlos 
Bassett,  another  Negro  and  a  graduate  of  the  New  Britain, 
Connecticut,  State  Normal  School.  In  1868,  Professor  Bas- 
sett was  succeeded  by  Miss  Fanny  M.  Jackson,  a  graduate 
of  the  Rhode  Island  State  Normal  School,  and  also  a  Bache- 
lor of  Arts  and  Master  of  Arts  of  Oberlin  College,  Ohio. 
Miss  Jackson,  who  became  Mrs.  L.  J.  Coppin  in  1882,  was 
the  principal  until  1902,  a  term  of  thirty-four  years.  Dur- 
ing this  period  the  chief  work  of  the  institution  was  literary 
and  it  attained  a  very  creditable  reputation  throughout  the 
North.  All  of  the  teachers  were  Negroes  and  included  grad- 
uates from  Oberlin  College,  Harvard  College,  Lincoln  Uni- 
versity, Wilberforce  University,  Yale  College  and  other  in- 
stitutions. From  1856  to  1902,  there  were  412  graduates, 
of  whom  71  are  known  to  be  deceased.  Many  cannot  be  locat- 
ed. The  occupation  of  156  of  them  are  as  follows:  Teachers, 
104 ;  physicians,  1 1 ;  dentists,  3 ;  lawyers,  7 ;  clergymen, 
5;  Government  clerks  (Washington),  6;  Post  Office  clerks, 
(Philadelphia),  8;  other  clerical  service,  5;  real  estate, 
2 ;  editors,  2 ;  bookkeepers,  2 ;  electrician,  i ;  architect 
I ;  tailor,  i ;  undertaker,  i.  The  institute  furnished  a 
large  number  of  Negro  teachers  to  the  South  after  the 
Civil  War,  and  to-day  many  of  the  most  prominent  posi- 
tions in  New  Jersey  and  Eastern  Pennsylvania  are  held  by" 
its  graduates  and  former  students.  It  has  furnished  seven 
principals  of  Philadelphia  public  schools ;  three  of  whom  are 
now  serving,  one  of  whom  has  taught  more  than  forty 
years  in  the  city.  It  has  furnished  eight  principals  in  New 
Jersey,  six  of  whom  are  now  serving;  one  in  Delaware,  one 
in  Washington,  D.  C,  and  several  in  smaller  cities  of  Penn- 
sylvania. Twenty-five  of  its  graduates  have  taken  higher 
courses  at  Lincoln  University,  Howard  University,  Univer- 


136  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

in  the  country.  It  was  very  possibly  inspired  by  the  efforts  of 
several  Negroes,  who  desired  to  have  higher  training  to  fit 
themselves  for  the  ministry.  The  actual  organizer  of  the 
school,  however,  was  the  Rev.  John  W.  Dickey,  a  Presby- 
terian clergyman,  who  had  been  giving  a  Mr.  James  R.  Amos 
private  lessons.  In  1853,  the  New  Castle  Presbytery  took 
steps  to  establish  a  school  for  the  Christian  education  of  the 
Negroes;  and  in  1854,  Ashmun  Institute  secured  its  charter 
from  the  State  of  Pennsylvania.  The  school  opened  formally 
January  i,  1857.  In  1866,  the  name  of  the  Institution  was 
changed  from  Ashmun  Institute,  to  Lincoln  University,  Ches- 
ter County,  Pennsylvania.  The  departments  are  the  College 
-and  the  Theological  Seminary,  the  latter  alone  being  under 
the  control  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  America.  The 
property  consists  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  acres  of 
land  in  lower  Oxford  Township,  Chester  County;  12  build- 
ings, endowments  and  apparatus.  The  heating  plant  alone 
cost  about  $30,000.  There  are  eleven  ''officers  of  instruction 
and  government,"  all  of  whom  are  white.  There  are  three 
additional  instructors  in  the  college  department,  who  are  also 
students.  These  are  Negroes.  During  the  year  1907-8  there 
were  94  students  coming  from  twenty-three  different  States. 
The  largest  number  from  a  single  State  was  thirty-four,  from 
Pennsylvania.  The  aims  of  the  institution  are  thus  set  forth 
in  the  catalogue  and  announcement: 

"The  design  of  Lincoln  University,  as  embodied  in  its 
character,  is  to  provide  intelligent  Christian  helpers  for  our 
Negro  population,  for  Africans  in  their  ancestral  continent 
or  scattered  throughout  the  world.  Every  thousand  laborers 
and  mechanics  and  farmers  need  a  pious,  well  educated  de- 
voted minister.  Of  the  10,000  educated  ministers  of  the  Gos- 
pel required  to  meet  this  necessity,  not  as  many  as  2,000  have 
been  thus  qualified  by  all  the  Churches  to  fulfill  in  part  their 
duty  toward  the  Negroes.     Every  fifty  children  need  a  com- 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  137 

sity  of  Pennsylvania,  Wilberforce  University,  Yale  Univer- 
sity and  Hahnemann  Medical  College.  One  of  its  students 
studied  very  acceptably  in  Edinburgh  University,  Scotland. 
With  a  more  liberal  attitude  toward  the  Negroes  and  better 
opportunities  in  the  public  schools  the  special  work  of  the  In- 
stitute in  the  city  was  thought  by  the  Board  of  Management 
to  have  been  complete  and  in  1903  the  school  was  reorgan- 
ized and  removed  to  Cheyney,  about  twenty  miles  from  Phil- 
adelphia. Here  on  a  tract  of  117  acres,  several  buildings 
were  erected  and  instruction  is  given  in  normal  school  work, 
domestic  science,  mechanical  arts,  including  cooking,  sew- 
ing, dressmaking,  millinery,  raffia  work,  carpentry  and  wood- 
work, forging  and  blacksmithing,  together  with  mechanical 
drawing  necessary  to  these  operations. 

Rev.  Charles  Avery,  a  merchant  minister,  of  New  York  and 
Pittsburg,  was  one  of  the  most  practical  friends  of  the  Ne- 
groes before  the  war.  Besides  contributing  generously  to  the 
poor,  he  left  large  endowments  to  their  churches,  and  for  their 
churches,  and  for  their  uplift,  both  in  Africa  and  America. 
He  gave  $25,000  as  an  endowment  for  a  school  for  Negroes, 
which  was  established  in  1849,  and  known  as  Avery  Col- 
lege. Its  charter  gives  the  right  to  confer  degrees.  The 
school  held  a  prominent  place  in  the  early  history  of  Alle- 
gheny County  but  with  the  development  of  the  free  public 
school  system  of  later  years,  it  has  been  of  less  influence  in 
purely  literary  work  and  devoted  its  attention  more  to  indus- 
trial work.  The  course  includes;  ordinary  English  branches, 
dressmaking,  millinery,  cooking,  laundering,  table  waiting, 
bookkeeping  for  girls  and  tailoring  for  boys.  Carpentering, 
bricklaying  and  other  mechanical  trades  were  taught  but 
have  been  suspended.  The  enrollment  rarely  reaches  100  pu- 
pils. The  principal  is  a  Negro,  and  the  teachers  are  of  both 
races. 

Lincoln  University  is  one  of  the  largest  Negro  colleges 


138  The  Negro  In  Pennsylvania 

petent,  conscientious  teacher.  The  highest  skill  in  trades 
and  other  manual  industries  will  not  alone  qualify  and  one 
to  be  a  preacher  to  a  congregation  of  sinners,  or  to  be  the 
pastor  of  a  flock  of  believers,  or  to  be  a  teacher  of  a  com- 
munity of  youth  in  the  moralities  of  life.  Lincoln  Univer- 
sity is  pledged  by  its  charter  and  by  the  trusts  which  it  has 
accepted,  to  apply  all  its  resources  hitherto  received  to  pro- 
mote this  higher  education  of  the  man  in  the  mechanic,  of 
the  family  in  the  community  and  of  the  immortal  in  this  pres- 
ent Hfe." 

'The  higher  Christian  education  of  the  Negro  is  one  of 
his  highest  necessities.  He  must  have  the  higher  education  be- 
cause he  is  a  man  having  the  high  dignity  of  being  made 
in  the  image  of  God.  His  higher  wants  and  their  supply 
cannot  be  deferred  to  his  physical  needs  without  peril  to  his 
spiritual  nature.  Manual  industry  is  not  in  itself  a  prelude  to 
religion.  Skilled  workmen  are  not  thereby  Christians.  In- 
dustry is  God's  law ;  but  it  must  be  sanctified  to  be  a  blessing. 
We  are  reconciled  to  work  because  it  is  God's  ordinance,  and 
He  makes  it  a  blessing  to  all  who  keep  His  law  of  six  days* 
work,  and  Sabbath  change  from  manual  labor  to  religious 
work.  The  only  way  to  make  education  Christian  is  to  teach 
the  Christian  religion  to  the  student.  This  is  the  natural  duty 
of  the  parents.  But  when  the  parents  are  incompetent  through 
ignorance,  or  are  prevented  by  the  necessity  of  protracted 
and  exhausting  toil,  it  is  the  province  and  duty  of  the  Church 
to  lend  a  helping  and  guiding  hand." 

Lincoln  University  has  sent  its  students  into  nearly  every 
State  in  the  Union  where  they  have  done  and  are  doing  ef- 
fective service  largely  as  ministers,  teachers  and  physicians. 
In  Philadelphia  more  than  a  score  of  professional  men  were 
graduates  from  this  institution. 

The  Berean  Manual  Training  and  Industrial  School, 
Philadelphia,  grew  out  of  the  work  of  the  Rev.  Matthew  An- 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  139 

derson,  as  pastor  of  the  Berean  Presbyterian  Church.  It  was 
organized  in  1899,  opened  in  February,  1900,  and  has  been 
operated  principally  as  a  night  school.  It  was  incorporated  in 
1904,  and  since  then  has  been  a  distinct  institution  from  the 
church.  Beginning  with  less  than  fifty  pupils,  its  enrollment 
was  more  than  two  hundred  during  the  past  year.  The 
branches  taught  are  English,  mathematics,  penmanship,  short- 
hand and  typewriting,  bookkeeping,  dressmaking,  cooking, 
millinery,  housekeeping,  carpentry,  bricklaying,  architectural 
and  mechanical  drawing,  practical  work  in  electricity  and 
printing.  The  teachers  are  mainly  Negroes.  The  pupils  are 
generally  young  men  and  women,  who  during  the  day  earn 
their  own  living  at  manual  work.  The  last  legislature  made 
an  appropriation  to  this  school.  Its  chief  support  is  from  vol- 
untary contributions. 

The  Downingtown  Industrial  School,  Downingtown,  is 
a  new  institution,  started  in  1905,  and  grew  out  of  the  work 
of  the  Rev.  Dr.  William  A.  Creditt,  pastor  of  the  First  African 
(Cherry  Memorial)  Baptist  Church,  and  its  purpose  is  to 
meet  the  increasing  need  of  Negro  youth  for  industrial  as  well 
as  literary  training.  It  also  acts  as  a  preparatory  school  for 
Lincoln  University.  The  enrollment  for  the  year  1906-7  was 
65.  Its  largest  building,  Pennsylvania  Hall,  was  erected  en- 
tirely by  Negro  mechanics.  A  full  industrial  course  is  to  be 
offered.  The  teachers  are  all  Negroes.  The  ^ chief  source  of 
income  is  voluntary  contributions.  There  is  no  endowment. 
The  state  legislature  has  made  appropriations  to  aid  this  insti- 
tution. 


140  The  Neiro  In  Pennsylvania 


CRIME  AMONG  NEGROES. 


It  is  important  that  a  careful  and  somewhat  detailed  study 
of  the  subject  of  crime  among  Negroes  be  made.  A  consid- 
eration of  some  of  the  fundamental  facts  of  criminalogy  may 
serve  for  a  proper  introduction  to  the  subject;  for  the  sarne 
principles  which  enter  into  crime  in  general,  must  be  active  in 
crimes  of  Negroes. 

A  crime  is  an  infraction  of  any  legal  enactment  whose  pur- 
pose is  to  preserve  peace,  common  order  and  decency,  as  in- 
terpreted by  the  social  group.  There  is  no  absolute  uniformity 
as  to  what  constitutes  a  crime  in  all  countries,  or  all  parts  of 
the  country.  It  is  a  crime  in  Georgia  punishable  by  a  heavy 
fine  and  imprisonment,  for  Negroes  and  whites  to  marry;  but 
it  is  no  crime  in  Pennsylvania  and  New  York.  It  is  a  crime 
in  Pennsylvania  to  employ  a  child  under  the  age  of  fourteen 
years  but  it  is  not  in  Mississippi.  Furthermore,  as  it  is  true 
what  constitutes  a  crime  is  not  uniform,  it  is  also  apparent  that 
the  mere  number  of  crimes  committed,  does  not  represent  with 
any  accuracy  the  moral  status,  or  even  the  criminality  of  a 
people.  For  in  a  complex  community  it  is  harder  to  escape 
crime,  than  in  a  simple  community.  In  judging  criminality, 
the  environment  must  be  considered  as  to  complexity.  The 
criminality  of  one  community,  other  things  being  equal,  is  to 
the  criminality  of  another  about  as  the  proportion  between  the 
possible  crimes  and  actual  crimes. 

In  popular  writings,  concerning  the  crimes  of  Negroes, 
the  number  of  arrests  has  often  been  taken  as  the  measure 
of  crime.  But  arrests  do  not  give  an  accurate  picture  of  crime 
and  especially  for  comparing  one  group  with  another.  Hun- 
dreds of  persons  are  annualy  arrested  who  have  not  committed 
any  crime  whatsoever,  and  hundreds  escape  who  have  com- 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  141 

mitted  crimes.  It  is  better  to  compare  convictions,  although 
absohite  accuracy  cannot  be  obtained  even  by  this  method ;  for 
since  a  large  number  of  criminals  are  never  arrested,  they 
cannot  be  convicted;  also  some  guilty  persons,  who  are  ar- 
rested, escape  conviction.  Even  here,  another  serious  error  is 
possible.  For  it  is  conceivable  that  one  place  may  be  much 
more  criminal  than  another  though  the  latter  has  proportion- 
ately more  convictions.  In  the  first  place,  each  arrest  and  con- 
viction lessens  the  criminality.  For  example,  when  Philadel- 
phia's "Tenderloin"  was  ''wide  open,"  it  was  conceded  that 
there  was  much  crime;  liquor  was  sold  freely  on  Sunday,  and 
v/ithout  license,  bawdy  houses  flourished  and  prostitutes  openly 
plied  their  trade  in  the  streets;  pick-pockets,  sneak  thieves, 
hold-up  men  and  petty  gamblers  were  practically  undisturbed, 
and  policy  shops  did  a  large  business  among  the  ignorant  poor. 
There  were  fewer  arrests  and  fewer  convictions  than  at  a  later 
time  when  the  laws  were  more  rigidly  enforced.  But  there 
may  have  been  more,  rather  than  less  crime.  When  the  city 
tried  in  the  popular  phrase  to  "close  up"  the  resorts  the  actual 
amount  of  crime  in  the  community  was  diminished,  but  the 
arrests  and  convictions  for  awhile  increased.  The  real  change 
^.as  in  lhe  enforcing  of  the  law  against  crime  and  not  in  the 
increase  of  crime;  crime  was  really  on  the  decrease.  Only, 
therefore,  when  there  is  uniformity  in  the  administration  of 
executive  and  judicfal  machinery,  both  as  to  arrests  and  con- 
vicitions.  can  either  of  these  be  taken  as  guides  for  comparison 
with  any  degree  of  accuracy. 

But  when  there  is  uniform  enforcement,  the  mere  number 
of  convictions  would  not  mean  much.  An  analysis  of  the  of- 
fenses must  be  made.  For  general  convenience,  the  division 
into  petty  offenses  or  misdemeanors  and  gross  offenses  or 
felonies,  is  used.  It  may  be  that  a  dozen  petty  offenses  may 
not  be  as  far  reaching  as  one  gross  offense.     If  forty  men 


142  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

2vk  taken  in  a  crap  game,  and  sentenced  to  five  days  confine- 
ment in  the  county  prison,  there  are  forty  arrested  and  forty 
convictions ;  but  the  amount  of  criminaHty  represented  is  com- 
paratively small.  Crap  shooting  is  not  a  very  great  crime. 
It  affects  few,  if  any  more  people  than  those  engaged  in  it. 
Few  fortunes  are  lost  at  it;  few  families  suffer  because  of  it 
and  society  is  but  little  affected.  On  the  other  hand,  a  bank 
official  may  misuse  the  funds  of  his  institution  and  be  arrested 
and  convicted.  But  he  counts  for  only  one.  It  is  therefore 
clear  that  mere  statistics  of  arrests  and  convictions,  will  here 
be  misleading;  for  this  last  named  criminal  many  have  op- 
erated systematically  for  years,  ruining  many  people,  debauch- 
ing society,  as  well  as  corrupting  finance,  causing  public  con- 
fidence to  be  shaken,  with  harm  to  himself,  his  own  family 
and  many  other  families.  The  actual  bad  moral  influence 
of  the  forty  crap  shooters  is  not  to  be  compared  with  that 
of  the  bank  defalcator,  but  in  statistics,  it  appears  forty  times 
as  great,  which  of  course  is  absurd.  And  of  course  if  the 
banker  is  never  arrested  or  escapes  on  a  technicality,  the 
absurdity  is  increased. 

When  it  comes  to  comparison  of  crime  among  the 
Negroes  with  that  of  the  larger  community,  there  are  even 
greater  difficulties.  First,  there  is  the  historical  difficulty. 
Historically,  Negroes  have  had  to  prove  their  innocence  and 
not  their  prosecutors  prove  their  guilt.  Under  the  Laws  of 
Slavery,  T.  R.  R.  Cobb,  an  eminent  Southern  jurist,  wrote : 

"Reasons  of  policy  and  necessity,  so  long  as  two  races  of 
men  live  together,  the  one  as  masters  and  the  other  as  de- 
pendents and  slaves,  demand  that  to  a  certain  extent,  all  of 
the  superior  race  shall  exercise  a  controlling  power  over  the 
inferior.  Hence,  have  arisen  in  the  states,  the  various  police 
and   patrol   regulations,   giving  to   white   persons   other   than 


A  Study  In  Economic  History    '  143 


the  master,  under  certain  circumstances,  the  right  of  con- 
trolling, and  in  some  cases,  correcting  slaves." 

Thus,  in  most  of  the  Southern  states,  the  police  system 
was  primarily  for  Negroes  and  not  for  whites.  Another 
historical  factor  relates  to  the  crimes  for  which  Negroes  can 
be  arrested.  Historically,  any  word  of  protest  against  a  white 
man  by  a  Negro  was  insolence  or  disorderly  conduct;  and  it 
was  a  serious  crime  for  a  Negro  to  strike  or  ''presume  to 
strike"  a  white  person;  but  a  white  man  was  simply  exer- 
cising his  right  as  a  member  of  the  ''superior"  caste  in  abus- 
ing the  Negro,  and  could  strike  him  with  impunity,  only 
some  laws  prohibited  maiming  and  killing.  A  box  of  the  ears 
was  no  crime  when  given  by  a  white  to  a  black,  but  the  reverse 
was  punishable  by  flogging.  This  was  true  by  law  or  custom 
of  every  Southern  state,  and  by  law  in  many  Northern  States. 

A  further  and  most  important  historical  factor  is  the 
credibility  of  witnesses.  By  law  in  most  Southern  States, 
and  some  Northern  States,  a  Negro  could  not  testify  against 
a  white  man  even  for  himself.  In  some  cases  several  Negroes 
would  not,  to  the  contrary,  be  strong  enough  according  to 
the  law,  to  outweigh  the  testimony  of  one  white  person.  It 
cannot  be  doubted  that  these  historical  factors  have  a  very  de- 
cided influence  in  the  cases  of  Negroes  in  our  courts  to-day, 
even  in  the  North,  while  the  best  observers  agree  that  there  is 
but  little  possibility  of  obtaining  justice  for  a  lone  Negro 
against  a  white  man  in  the  South,  except  in  rare  cases.  Then 
there  is  the  condition  of  poverty.  The  crimes  of  the  poor 
are  generally  their  vices,  which  affect  them  more  than  the 
community;  but  the  vices  of  the  well-to-do  are  seldom  termed 
criminal,  unless  they  become  of  great  social  concern.  A 
fashionable  set  may  give  a  euchre  or  a  bridge  party  and 
hundreds  of  dollars  may  change  hands  and  women  earn  their 


144  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

"pin"  money  thereby;  but  no  one  disturbs  them,  unless  they 
become  too  bold.  The  ''drunks"  of  a  fashionable  club,  or  a 
student  "lark"  are  sent  home  in  cabs,  undisturbed,  while  the 
poor  man,  who  has  to  walk  home,  is  often  arrested.  The 
shop-lifter  of  means,  is  too  often  merely  a  "kleptomaniac," 
while  the  poor  woman  is  a  thief.  These  facts  should  be  con- 
sidered when  it  is  remembered  that  "drunks"  and  "disorder- 
lies" and  petty  larcenies  are  chief  causes  for  running  up  the 
statistics  of  arrests  and  convictions  among  the  poor.  Negroes 
of  the  cities,  being  largely  among  the  poor,  must  be  affected 
by  the  differences  which  poverty  makes  in  these  matters.  Then 
there  is  the  matter  of  the  trial  after  arrests.  Even  before 
justice,  poverty  suffers. 

Coming  to  the  subject  of  criminality  of  Negroes  in  Penn- 
sylvania, it  is  clear  that  nothing  more  than  mere  tendencies 
can  be  pointed  out.  For  the  available  data  are  too  meagre 
for  anything  else.  There  are  no  separate  statistics  of  ar- 
rests, or  convictions  for  Negroes  in  the  state  as  a  whole.  The 
only  statistics  published  for  the  state  are  those  of  prisoners 
in  jails  and  penitentiaries.  The  city  of  Philadelphia  published 
the  number  of  Negroes  arrested,  but  this  is  of  little  value, 
as  no  hint  is  given  of  the  causes  for  the  arrests.  The  city 
of  Pittsburg  publishes  no  statistics,  not  even  the  number  of 
arrests  of  Negroes.  With  the  data  available  it  is  impossible 
to  reach  any  but  tentative  conclusions.  The  increase  of  ar- 
rests in  Philadelphia  may,  however,  be  compared  with  the 
ratio  of  the  increase  in  population,  and  if  it  is  found  that  the 
arrests  have  increased  more  rapidly  than  the  population,  this 
may  represent  an  increased  tendency  to  criminality.  On  the 
other  hand,  if  arrests  have  not  increased  as  rapidly  as  the 
population,  the  opposite  tendency  may  be  noted.  For  this 
comparison,  the  number  of  arrests  in  Philadelphia  from  1864 


A  Study  In  Economic  History 


145 


to  1907  is  available  from  the  report  of  the  police  department, 
and  the  increase  of  population  is  shown  by  the  census.  The 
following  table  exhibits  the  comparison : 


Year. 

i860 

1864 

1865 

1869 

1870 

1873 

1874 

1875 

1877 

1879 

1880 

1881 

1882 

1883 

1884 

1885 

1887 

1888 

1890 

1891 

1892 

1893 

1894 

1895 

1896 

1897 

1898 

1899 

1900 

1901 

1902 

1903 

1904 


Population. 
22,185 


22,147 


3 1. .699 


39,371 


62,613 


Number  of 
Arrests. 


3,422 
2,722 
3,907 
2,070 
1,380 
1,257 
1,539 
2,524 
2,360 
2,204 
2,327 
2,183 
2,022 

2,134 
2,622 
3,256 
2,910 
3,167 
3,544 
3,431 
4,078 
4,905 
5,137 
5,302 

5,893 
5,806 
6,052 
6,531 
6,519 
6,711 
8,140 
7,811 


Per  Cent,  of  P.C.  of  Inc. 
Population        Arrests. 


431 


.7* 


39-5* 


6.6 


24.2 


590 


43.7 


106.2 


(*  Decrease.) 

These  figures  do  not  show  any  regular  increase  from  year 
to  year.  For  instance,  the  arrests  for  1864  were  more  than 
those  for  1865,  or  any  one  of  the  years  from  1870  to  1890.  In 
41  years  from  1864  to  1904  inclusive,  the  increase  in  arrests 


I 


10 


146  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

was  128.2  per  cent.;  from  1879  to  1904  inclusive,  277.3  P^^ 
cent. ;  from  1880  to  1904,  254.4  per  cent.  In  other  words,  the 
percentage  of  increase  is  more  or  less,  according  to  the  years 
taken.  From  1864  to  1870,  both  arrests  and  population  de- 
creased; but  arrests  decreased  40  per  cent,  and  population 
1.7  per  cent.  From  1870  to  1880,  the  arrests  increased  6.5  per 
cent.;  but  in  the  same  time  the  Negro  population  increased 
43.7  per  cent,  and  the  total  population  24.2  per  cent.,  while 
from  1890  to  1900  the  arrests  increased  106.2  per  cent,  and 
the  population  59.0  per  cent.  These  percentages,  so  far  as 
arrests  are  concerned,  are  entirely  due  to  accident.  If  the 
figures  of  one  year  are  taken  they  are  more;  if  another,  less; 
from  1864  to  1869,  arrests  increased  14  per  cent,  but  if  we 
take  the  next  year,  it  decreased  40  per  cent. ;  or  from  1900 
to  1903,  there  was  an  increase  of  23.1  per  cent.,  while  if 
we  take  the  increase  from  1900  to  1904,  close  scrutiny  of 
these  figures  leads  to  the  conclusion  as  far  as  there  can  be 
any  conclusion,  that  the  increase  of  crime  among  Negroes  has 
not  been  as  great  as  compared  with  the  increase  of  the  Negro 
population.  Only  when  crime  increases  more  rapidly  than 
population,  can  it  be  said  that  the  group  or  community  is  in- 
creasing in  criminality. 

In  1849,  Edward  Needles,  reporting  on  the  condition  of 
Negroes  as  to  crime  in  Philadelphia,  published  the  following 
table  showing  the  Negro-  prisoners  received  in  the  Eastern 
Penitentiary  from  1829  to  1849,  in  periods  of  five  years: 


Years 

Total  received        A 

verage  per  year 

1829-1835 

124 

24.8 

1835-1840 

321 

64.2 

1 840- 1 845 

209 

41.8 

I 845- I 849 

116 

31-5 

1849-1849X 

115 

26.75 

A  Study  In  Economic  History  147 

The  total  number  of  Negroes  received  in  the  Easterra 
Penitentiary  during  21  years  reported  by  Mr.  Needles,  was  780,. 
an  average  of  37.1  prisoners  per  year.  For  the  past  twenty-^ 
eight  years  from  1880  to  1907,  the  number  of  Negro  prisoners 
admitted  to  the  Eastern  Penitentiary  has  been  as  follows : 

Negro  prisoners  admitted  to  Eastern  Penitentiary,  1880 
to  1907: 


fear  Total 

admitted 

Year 

Total  admitted 

1880 

70 

1895 

109 

1881 

55 

1896 

126 

1882 

32 

1897 

69 

1883 

76 

1898 

80 

1884 

75 

1899 

103 

1885 

78 

1900 

84   . 

1886 

72 

1901 

83 

1887 

71 

1902 

128 

1888 

71 

1903 

99 

1889 

85 

1904 

134 

1891 

161 

1905 

87 

1891 

68 

1906 

120 

1893 

117 

1894 

127 
admitted  .  . 

Total 

2,.SI7 

The  above  figures  of  prisoners  admitted  to  the  Easterra 
Penitentiary,  like  the  figures  of  arrests,  cannot  show  con- 
clusively the  amount  of  criminality  yet .  they  do  reflect  a 
tendency.  But  as  in  the  case  of  the  statistics  of  arrests,  so 
those  of  prisoners  show  no  regular  increase  from  year  to 
year,  but  considerable  fluctuation.  There  were  fewer  prisoners 
admitted  to  the  Eastern  Penitentiary  during  the  year  1907, 
just  closed,  than  the  year  1897,  ten  years  previous.  There 
were  fewer  in  1906  than  in  1896;  fewer  in  1905  than  in  18^5, 
There  are  twice  as  many  in   1904  as  in   1897,  yet  the  verjr 


148  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

next  year,  1905,  the  number  admitted  falls  off  nearly  40  per 
cent.,  only  to  rise  again  in  1906,  and  fall  again  in  1907,  thus 
showing  how  difficult  it  is  to  make  a  comparison.  We  may, 
however,  make  a  fair  comparison  by  contrasting  periods  of 
greater  or  less  length.  For  this  purpose,  these  figures  of  the 
Eastern  Penitentiary  given  above,  may  be  compared  with 
those  of  the  earlier  period,  given  by  Mr.  Needles,  on  the 
preceding  page.  During  the  period  from  1829  to  1849,  in- 
clusive, according  to  Mr.  Needles'  report,  780  Negro  prison- 
ers were  admitted  to  the  Eastern  Penitentiary,  an  average 
o^  37-1  P^i"  year.  During  the  latter  period,  from  1880  to 
1907  inclusive,  2,517  were  admitted,  an  average  of  89.9  per 
year.  The  increase,  therefore,  of  Negro  prisoners  admitted 
to  the  Eastern  Penitentiary  during  the  latter  period  was 
141.8  per  cent.,  as  compared  with  the  earlier  period.  The 
average  population  of  Negroes  of  the  state  during  the  earlier 
period  was  46,626  (i.  e.,  the  population  in  1830  was  38,333; 
in  1840,  47,918;  in  1850,  53,626)  and  during  the  latter  period 
was  116,659,  (i-  e.,  in  1880,  85,535;  i^  1890,  107,596;  and  in 
1900,  156,845).  The  increase  of  the  average  Negro  popula- 
tion in  the  later  over  the  earlier  period  was  150.2  per  cent. 
By  this  test  it  appears  that  the  number  of  prisoners  increased 
less  rapidly  than  the  population  of  Negroes. 

The  above  comparison  of  arrests  and  prisoners  admitted 
to  the  penitentiary  may  justify  the  conclusion  that  the  ac- 
tual amount  of  crime  among  Negroes  has  increased  more 
rapidly  than  the  Negro  population.  A  fair  and  conservative 
conclusion  from  the  data  present  would  be  that  crime  among 
Negroes  as  compared  with  the  growth  of  the  Negro  popula- 
tion has  relatively  decreased. 

Since  no  official  statistics  of  the  nature  of  crimes  com- 
mitted by  Negroes  are  published  in  this  state,  a  detailed  study 
of  the  police  records  of  one  section  of  Philadelphia  is  here 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  149 

presented.  The  section  chosen  was  the  Nineteenth  Police 
District  of  Philadelphia.  This  includes  the  Seventh  Ward, 
which  is  the  largest  ward  in  the  city  so  far  as  Negro  popula- 
tion is  concerned.  It  also  includes  more  of  the  poorest  and 
least  efficient  Negroes  than  any  other  ward  in  the  city.  Al- 
though only  one-sixth  of  the  Negroes  live  in  this  ward,  nearly 
a  third  of  the  arrests  are  made  within  its  bounds.  The  dis- 
trict, therefore,  is  not  the  most  favorable  to  the  Negro  and 
will  in  no  sense  exaggerate  the  better  side.  During  the  year 
1906,  there  were  2237  Negroes  arrested  in  the  Ninteenth  Dis- 
trict. 

More  than  half  of  these  arrests  were  on  the  five  charges 
of  disorderly  conduct,  breach  of  the  peace,  drunkenness,  drunk 
and  disorderly  conduct,  and  shooting  crap,  for  which  ar- 
rests were  as  follows:  Disorderly  conduct,  428;  breach  of 
the  peace,  275;  drunk,  204;  drunk  and  disorderly,  157;  shoot- 
ing crap,  86;  making  a  total  of  11 50.  Other  arrests  for  of- 
fenses of  a  trivial  nature  were :  10  for  acting  suspiciously ;  53 
for  corner  lounging,  and  8  for  blocking  cars,  trespassing,  and 
impersonating  officers.  Seventeen  were  arrested  to  be  held 
as  witnesses ;  nineteen  for  malicious  mischief ;  while  eighty- 
eight  were  arrested  on  suspicions  of  various  kinds  and  one 
hundred  and  eight  were  arrested  for  being  inmates  of  dis- 
orderly houses.  The  more  serious  causes  of  arrests  were : 
140  for  larceny  and  i  for  murder;  i  for  accessory  to  murder; 
5  for  burglary;  13  for  highway  robbery;  154  for- assault  and 
battery;  46  for  aggravated  assault  and  battery;  5  for  rape;  i 
for  robbery;  i  for  shooting  man;  i  for  immorality  and  ne- 
glect of  children ;  6  for  fornication  and  bastardy ;  40  for  non- 
support  ;  58  were  held  for  violating  the  liquor  license  law  and 
84  for  keeping  disorderly  houses.  About  one-third  of  those 
arrested  were  held  on  serious  charges. 

A  method  of  arrest  practiced  commonly  among  the  poorer 


150  The  Negro  In  Pennsylvania 


districts  known  as  the  raid,  is  employed  very  effectively  in  the 
19th  District,  for  the  suppression  of  liquor  selling  on  Sun- 
day, or  without  license,  gambling  and  bawdy  houses.  The 
|)arties  who  are  caught  in  the  house  are  generally  taken  to 
the  police  station  and  entered,  the  paraphernalia  seized,  the 
(Owner  bound  over  to  the  grand  jury  and  the  inmates  either 
discharged  or  given  light  sentences.  The  first  thing  is  for 
the  place  suspected  of  violating  the  law,  to  be  watched  and 
if  possible,  entered  in  order  to  get  evidence.  This  is  done 
chiefly  by  the  detectives  of  the  Law  and  Order  Society. 
Having  evidence,  a  warrant  is  sworn  out  for  the  owner  or 
operator.  Not  only  is  the  operator  taken,  but  all  who  are 
found  in  the  place.  The  number  of  arrests  ranges  from  two 
to  more  than  thirty.  This,  of  course,  runs  up  the  criminal 
statistics  of  Negroes.  For  example,  July  14,  1906,  in  the  terri- 
tory of  the  19th  District,  eight  raids  were  made,  one  result- 
ing in  the  arrest  of  46  persons.  On  the  next  Sunday  in  one 
raid  34  persons  were  taken.  The  following  is  the  record  in 
the  police  station: 

1.  July,   14,   1906,  house  at  No.  S.  Camac  Street, 

raided;  5  men  and  two  women  taken;  charge,  selling  liquor 
on  Sunday,  and  without  license;  the  four  ''inmates"  dis- 
charged, the  keeper  bound  over  to  grand  jury. 

2.  Same  date,  same  charge,  No.  Jessup  Street,  .5 

iarrested,  all  women;  sentence,  10  days  imprisonment  for 
€ach. 

3.  Same  date,  same  charge,  No.  S.  Eleventh  Street, 

6  arrested,  4  women;  sentence,  all  discharged  except  pro- 
prietor, who  was  held  under  bond. 

4.  Same  date,  same  charge.  No.  Lombard  Street, 

15  arrested;  all  men,  given  10  days  in  county  prison. 

5.  Same  date,  same  charge,  No.  Panama  Street,  3 

arrested,  all  women,  all  discharged  except  proprietor. 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  151 

6.  Same  date,  same  charge,  No.  Pine  Street,  3  ar- 
rested, all  women,  all  discharged  except  proprietor. 

7.  Same   date,   charge,   keeping  bawdy   house,   No.   — — 


Panama  Street,  4  arrested;  3  women,  all  discharged  except 
the  proprietor. 

8.  Same  date,    charge,     keeping     house.     No.  S. 

Eleventh  Street;  5  persons  arrested,  3  women;  all  discharged 
except  proprietor. 

9.  July  22,  1906,  1.45  A.  M.,  No.  Lombard  Street, 

charge,  shooting  crap ;  34  arrested,  all  men ;  given  10  days  ir« 
county  prison. 

Of  the  2237  Negroes  arrested  during  1906,  in  the  19th 
District,  at  least  779,  or  34.82  per  cent.,  received  no  punish- 
ment whatever  but  were  discharged  after  a  preliminary  hear- 
ing as  shown  in  the  table  given.  In  the  main,  the  cases  were 
heard  by  the  magistrate  of  the  distirict  and  a  large  majority 
settled  by  him.  Persons  who  were  drunk  were  kept  until 
they  were  sobered  up,  usually  over  night,  and  then  dis- 
charged. Of  the  204  drunks,  169  were  discharged  and  only 
35  were  held.  Some  were  sent  for  a  few  days  to  the  county 
prison  and  others  to  the  hospital  rather  than  to  jail.  Next 
to  drunkenness  comes  disorderly  conduct  in  the  matter  of 
light  punishment;  of  the  428  who  were  arr^ested  on  this 
charge,  249  were  discharged;  most  of  the  remaining  179  who 
were  not  discharged  at  the  magistrates'  hearing  were  senten- 
ced to  5,  10,  15  or  30  days  in  the  county  prison;  3  months, 
6  months  and  as  high  as  i  year  in  the  house  of  correction. 
For  disorderly  conduct,  women  as  a  rule  were  more  harshly 
dealt  with  than  men.  Of  the  275  arrested  for  ''breach  of 
peace,"  131  were  discharged.  Some  were  bound  over  under 
$500  bond  to  keep  the  peace,  and  others  were  incarcerated 
for  from  10  days  to  i  year.    Many  of  the  cases  of  breach  of 


152  The  Negro  In  Pennsylvania 

peace  were  husbands  and  wives,  who  presumably  had  some 
trouble  among  themselves.  They  were  sometimes  discharged, 
sometimes  one  sentenced  and  the  other  discharged,  often  both 
sentenced.  'Mdle  and  disorderly  characters"  and  vagrants, 
the  first  chiefly  women,  and  the  second  men,  received  senten- 
ces from  lo  days  to  2  years  in  the  county  prison  or  house  of 
correction.  The  keepers  of  gambling  houses,  bawdy  houses 
and  houses  of  ill  fame,  were  bound  over  under  bond  of  from 
$600  to  $800.  Of  the  117  inmates  of  these  places,  36  were 
discharged  and  most  of  the  others  were  given  from  5  to  30 
days  or  3  months  in  the  county  prison  or  house  of  correction. 
Street  loungers  received  generally  from  10  to  20  days  im- 
prisonment; crap  shooters,  10  days  and  other  minor  offen- 
ces about  the  same. 

More  than  three-fourths  of  the  cases  were  settled  by  the 
magistrate  in  the  district.  Most  of  the  serious  crimes  which 
were  not  settled  by  the  magistrate  went  to  the  grand  jury. 
It  has  been  impracticable  to  follow  them  through  the  higher 
courts.  But  many  of  those  arrested  on  serious  charges  were 
released  on  preliminary  hearing;  12  out  of  140  arrests  for 
larceny  were  discharged;  3  out  of  13  for  highway  robberj^; 
29  out  of  154  for  assault  and  battery;  2  out  of  46  for  aggra- 
vated assault  and  battery;  i  out  of  20  for  receiving  stolen 
goods.  What  proportion  of  the  remainder  were  convicted  it 
is  impossible  to  ascertain.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  only 
a  small  proportion  of  them  were  sent  to  the  penitentiary;  for 
only  33  colored  persons  were  received  at  the  Eastern  Peni- 
tentiary from  the  whole  of  Philadelphia  County  during  the 
year  1906  and  only  36  during  the  year  1907. 

The  table  given  above  shows  that  in  the  Nineteenth  Dis 
trict  of  Philadelphia  of  a  total  of  2237  persons  arrested,  691 
or  30.8  per  cent,  were  females.  Of  the  eighty-five  charges,  on 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  153 


which  there  were  arrests,  females  were  arrested  on  seventy- 
five  charges.  The  chief  charges  on  which  women  were  arrest- 
ed were  as  follows:  Disorderly  conduct,  152  arrests;  breach 
of  peace,  102;  idle  and  disorderly  characters,  70;  drunk,  49; 
inmates  of  disorderly  house,  45;  drunk  and  disorderly,  41.  On 
these  six  charges,  459,  or  about  66.4  per  cent,  of  the  arrests 
of  females  were  made.  Upon  preliminary  hearing,  the  major 
portion  of  these  were  dismissed  or  given  a  light  sentence  of 
thirty  days  or  less.  The  more  serious  charges  were :  Selling 
liquor  on  Sundays  without  license,  35  arrests;  assault  and 
battery,  34  arrests;  larceny,  31  arrests;  keeping  disorderly 
houses,  26  arrests ;  aggravated  assault  and  battery,  8  arrests ; 
I  arrest  for  murder;  22  on  suspicion  of  larceny;  8  for 
threatening;  10  for  witnesses;  6  for  street  walking. 

During  the, year  1907,  no  Negro  females  were  admitted 
to  the  Eastern  Penitentiary,  but  9  were  discharged,  leaving  8 
Negro  females  in  the  institution  January  i,  1908.  The 
number  of  Negro  females  admitted  from  1880  to  1889  in- 
clusive, was  55 ;  from  1890  to  1899  inclusive,  60;  from  1900  to 
1907,  inclusive,  35,  a  total  of  150  Negro  females  in  28 
years,  an  average  of  less  than  half  a  dozen  per  year. 

In  the  reformatories  of  the  state  there  were  in  September, 
1904,  1,372  juvenile  delinquents,  of  whom  1,137  were  boys 
and  237  girls.  During  the  year  from  September,  1903,  to 
September  loth,  1904,  699  were  admitted,  of  whom  428  were 
in  the  House  of  Refuge,  at  Glen  Mills  and  Philadelphia,  and 
271  were  at  the  Pennsylvania  Reform  School  at  Morganza, 
Washington  County.  In  the  latter  institution  were  42  colored 
children,  31  boys  and  11  girls.  In  the  former  there  were  12 
colored  girls  and  the  number  of  colored  boys  is  not  given. 
The  average  for  the  year  was  58  girls  in  both  institutions 
and  78  boys  in  the  Reform  School. 


154  The  Negro  In  Pennsylvania 

Of  the  136  Negro  children  reported  during  1904,  26  had 
been  in  the  reformatories  before.  About  one-fifth  of  those 
re-admitted  were  absent  less  than  three  months;  29,  from 
three  to  six  months;  27,  from  six  to  twelve  months;  i  from 
one  to  two  years;  15,  from  two  to  three  years  and  5  from 
three  to  four  years  and  over. 

Of  the  568  children  committed,  five  were  nine  years  of 
^feC;  23  between  nine  and  eleven  years;  81  between  eleven 
and  twelve;  221  between  thirteen  and  fifteen  years;  235  be- 
tween fifteen  and  twenty  years  and  three  over  twenty  years 
of  age.  Of  the  eight  Negro  girls  committed  to  the  House  of 
Refuge,  only  one  had  both  parents  living;  of  thirteen  boys 
committed  to  the  Reform  School,  the  parents  of  four  were 
living,  while  of  seven  girls  three  had  both  parents  living ;  while 
of  the  48  white  girls  in  the  same  House  of  Refuge,  24  had 
parents  living  and  of  the  37  to  the  Reform  School,  30  had 
parents  living  and  of  the  109  boys  in  the  latter  institution, 
55  had  both  parents  living.  Hence,  it  appears  that  the  lack 
of  parental  oversight  must  be  a  great  factor  since  it  is  not 
the  children  with  the  homes  as  much  as  those  without  homes 
who  fall  into  crime. 

The  percentage  of  illiterates  is  much  larger  for  the 
Negro  children  who  go  to  the  reformatories  than  for  the 
white  children.  Sixty  out  of  540,  ii.i  per  cent,  of  the  white 
boys  and  girls  were  illiterate;  while  six  out  of  28,  or  21.4 
per  cent,  of  the  colored  were  wholly  illiterate. 

The  offenses  for  which  Negro  children  are  committed 
are  simple  as  compared  with  those  of  the  white  children.  In- 
corrigibility is  the  chief  charge  against  the  Negro  children, 
and  larceny  the  second.  Other  charges  against  Negro  children 
were :  assault  and  battery,  delinquency  and  vagrancy.  Half  of 
the  Negro  girls  entered  in  the  House  of  Refuge  were  entered 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  155 

for  larceny,  while  only  about  one-fourth  of  the  white  girls 
were  entered  on  this  charge.  Forty  per  cent,  of  the  Negro 
children  entered  in  the  Reform  School  were  entered  for 
larceny,  while  less  than  34  per  cent,  of  the  whites  were  en- 
tered on  this  charge ;  all  of  which  reflects  not  a  racial  but  th( 
low  economic  position  of  the  Negro  family  and  the  neglected 
condition  of  many  Negro  children. 

The  lack  of  parental  oversight  over  Negro  children  is 
a  most  potent  cause  of  juvenile  delinquency  and  crime  and  is 
but  faintly  reflected  in  the  cases  which  come  before  the 
juvenile  courts.  Many  children  are  left  with  friends  and  rela- 
tives, many  do  not  have  any  care-taker  whatever.  In  the 
slums  of  Philadelphia  one  may  daily  meet  children  who  do 
not  know  their  parents.  Next  to  having  no  parents  comes  the 
work  of  women,  as  a  cause  of  juvenile  delinquency.  It  can- 
not be  denied  that  the  presence  of  the  mother  in  the  home 
when  the  child  comes  home  from  school,  is  a  deterrent  from 
temptation.  Yet  as  has  been  shown,  a  large  porportion  of  the 
women  must  work.  And  when  they  have  a  family,  they  must 
still  keep  at  it.  Thus  it  often  happens  that  children  are  left 
in  idleness  and  temptation.  In  one  of  the  schools  of  the 
Seventh  Ward,  41  out  of  210  children  in  the  first  and  second 
grades  averaging  in  age  between  seven  and  eight  years,  or 
19.5  per  cent,  of  the  total  were  reported  as  having  mothers 
but  no  fathers;  24  children,  or  11.4  per  cent.,  as  having  fathers 
but  no  mothers.  Only  133  children  or  less  than  two-thirds  of 
the  whole  number  had  both  parents  living.  Of  the  174 
children  who  had  mothers,  114  or  65  per  cent,  were  left  by 
their  mothers  early  in  the  morning,  and  on  their  return  home 
found  them  away,  as  they  were  working  out.  In  other  words, 
in  this  school,  150  children  out  of  210  had  no  motherly  care 
during  the  day,  and  all  these  children  are  under  nine  years, 


156  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

of  age.  Of  the  children  in  the  higher  grades,  3rd  and  4th,  a 
still  larger  proportion  had  neither  fathers  or  mothers  and 
were  without  parental  care  after  school  hours.  In  a  German- 
town  school  a  count  was  made  of  108  pupils  in  all  grades. 
Nineteen  had  no  mother;  22  had  no  father.  Of  the  89  who 
had  mothers,  46  of  the  mothers  were  working  out,  having  to 
leave  home  before  school  hours  and  return  after  school  dis- 
missed to  find  their  children  in  the  streets;  that  is,  in  this 
school  64  out  of  108  children,  or  59  per  cent.,  had  no  ma- 
ternal oversight  during  the  day. 

It  is  extremely  difficult  to  compare  the  crime  of  Negroes 
with  that  of  whites,  because  of  the  considerations  previously 
given.  If  the  statistics  of  arrests  alone  were  taken,  it  appears 
that  the  Negroes  furnish  twice  as  large  a  number  of  arrests 
as  they  ought  in  proportion  to  the  population.  The  Negroes 
are  about  5  per  cent,  of  the  population  and  furnished  during 
the  past  eight  years,  1900-1907,  10.4  per  cent,  of  the  arrests. 
But  it  has  been  seen  that  arrests  alone  mean  very  little  in 
comparing  criminality  of  different  groups.  The  following 
table  shows  arrests  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia  from  i860  to 
1907  inclusive: 

TOTAL  ARRESTS,  AND  ARRESTS  OF  NEGROES  COMPARED 
WITH  GROWTH  OF  POPULATION. 

Ncffro 
Population.  Arrests  Popu-    Per  cent. 

Year.  Total.  Negro.  Total.  Negro,      lation.    Arrests. 

i860  525,329  22,185  3.9 

1864  34,221  3,114  ...  9.1 

1865  43,226  2,722  ...  6.3 

1870  674,022         22,147         31,717         2,070         s.s         6.5 

1875      34,553  1,539  ■••  4-5 

1880  847,170  31,699  44,097  2,204  3,7  5.0 

1885       51,418  2,662  ...  5.1 

1890  1,046,964  39,371  49,148  3,167  3.8  6.4 

1895       60,347  5,137  •••  8.5 

1896       50,072  5,302  ...  9.1 

1897  62,628  5,893  •••   ,   ••• 

1898      62,907  5,806 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  157 


Negro, 
Population.  Arrests.  Popu-  Percent. 

Year.  Total.  Negro.  Total.        Negro,  lation.  Arrests. 

1899  62,075  6,052 

1900  1,293,697  62,613  65,360  6,531  4-8  9-9 

1901  61,189  6,519 

1902  65,468  6,711  

1903  75,699  8,140 

1904  73,061  7,811 

1905  80,875  8,404 

1906  83,325  8,733 

1907  85,863  8,904 

While  the  number  of  arrests  of  Negroes  is  far  greater  in 
proportion  to  the  population  than  the  arrests  of  whites,  it 
is  no  greater  than  it  was  forty  years  ago.  Immediately  after 
the  Civil  War  there  was  a  comparative  decrease  in  Negro  ar- 
rests, but  during  the  past  three  decades,  there  has  been  an 
increase  so  that  now,  the  proportion  between  Negro  arrests 
and  white  arrests  as  compared  with  the  population  is  about 
the  same  as  it  was  at  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  War. 

In  the  foregoing  discussion  it  has  been  pointed  out  that, 
in  proportion  to  the  growth  of  population,  crime  is  not  greatly 
increasing  among  Negroes,  if  increasing  at  all.  In  compari- 
son with  the  white  population  so  far  as  the  proportion  between 
the  increase  of  crime  and  the  increase  of  the  population  is 
concerned,  the  blacks  hardly  show  any  greater  tendency  to 
crime  than  they  have  always  shown.  But  although  there  is 
no  greater  increase  than  is  evident  among  the  white  portion 
of  our  population,  there  is  about  twice  as  large  a  proportion 
of  Negro  arrests  and  imprisonments  as  of  whites.  But  this 
condition  is  not  new ;  it  has  existed  for  a  century,  not  only 
in  Pennsylvania,  but  in  the  country  generally,  the  Negroes 
appear  to  have  a  larger  proportion  of  arrests  and  prisoners 
than  whites.  The  question  therefore  naturally  arises,  ''Why 
is  there  a  larger  proportion  of  the  Negroes  than  whites  ar- 
rested and  imprisoned?"     Some  light  may  be  thrown  upon 


158  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

this  by  the  comparison  of  arrests  in  the  Nineteenth  District. 
Here  there  was  but  little  difference  between  the  number  of 
arrests  of  Negroes  and  whites,  who  lived  in  close  touch  with 
one  another  and  under  somewhat  similar  circumstances.  There 
does  not  seem  to  be  anything  of  a  special  racial  characteris- 
tic which  makes  for  excessive  criminality  among  Negroes. 
The  excess  of  criminality  merely  indicates  what  the  excess  of 
illiteracy  indicates,  namely,  a  lower  social  efficiency.  Com- 
pared with  the  whites  of  their  economic  group,  there  is  but 
little  difference. 

The  Negroes  of  the  higher  economic  group  very  rarely 
are  among  the  criminals  or  have  to  appear  in  court  because 
of  criminal  prosecution  directed  against  them.  They  are  not 
the  college  and  high  school  graduates,  the  professional  and 
business  men  who  are  among  the  Negroes  arrested.  These  are, 
w^ith  very  rare  exceptions,  peaceable,  law-abiding  citizens.  The 
criminal  Negroes  come  from  a  very  different  group  altogether. 

The  most  numerous  and  serious  crimes  committed  by 
Negroes  are  stealing,  fighting  and  disorderly  conduct,  which 
are  characteristic  of  those  of  low  intelligence  and  of  low 
economic  status.  Those  who  steal,  do  so  largely  because  they 
want  things  and  have  not  the  ability  or  the  opportunity  to 
satisfy  these  wants  by  honest  labor.  Many  are  honest,  but 
being  shut  out  by  the  lack  of  opportunity  or  efficiency,  they 
acquire  habits  of  dishonesty  and  disinclination  to  work.  Those 
who  keep  "speak  easies"  do  so  for  the  money  they  get,  which 
in  many  cases  they  are  unable  to  earn.  They  frequently  have 
the  protection  and  active  aid  of  the  political  boss,  who  is  gen- 
erally a  white  man.  Fighting  is  everywhere  the  unintelligent 
man's  way  of  settling  a  dispute  and  is  resorted  to  quite  fre- 
quently by  the  Negro  who  has  not  yet  learned  the  lesson 
of  self-control  or  the  value  of  arbitration. 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  159 

The  sudden  congregating  of  many  Negroes  in  the  large 
cities  like  Pittsburg  and  Philadelphia,  where  they  cannot  be 
easily  detected  and  where  they  can  frequently  secure  protec- 
tion from  the  police,  tends  also  to  the  increase  of  crime 
among  them.  In  the  large  cities  opportunities  for  crime  are 
often  many  times  greater  than  in  the  small  towns  and  rural 
districts  from  which  most  of  the  Negroes  come,  while  lack  of 
home,  church  and  other  social  restraints,  doubtless  cause 
some  to  fall  into  crime  who  might  have  lived  normal,  self- 
respecting  lives  had  they  remained  in  the  smaller,  simpler  en- 
vironments. 

POVERTY  AMONG  NEGROES. 


There  are  but  few  property  holders  among  Negroes  and 
the  amount  of  property  owned  is  small  in  comparison  with 
the  total  valuation  of  property  in  the  state.  Judged  from 
the  standard  of  luxury,  90  per  cent,  of  the  Negroes  would  be 
in  a  condition  of  poverty;  but  if  the  standard  be  lowered  to 
the  necessities  for  the  maintenance  of  a  normal  standard  of 
living — allowing  just  enough  to  prevent  physical  deterioration, 
because  of  the  lack  of  good  food  and  sufficient  clothing  and 
other  things  absolutely  necessary  for  economic  efficiency — 
fully  forty  per  cent,  of  the  Negroes  would  be  classed  as  poor. 
According  to  Prof.  DuBois'  study  of  Philadelphia,  8.9  per 
cent,  of  the  persons  of  the  Seventh  Ward  were  in  the  class  of 
the  "very  poor;"  9.6  per  cent,  were  *'poor"  and  47.8  per  cent, 
were  "fair." 

Among  the  poor,  women  are  the  chief  workers,  because 
there  is  more  steady  demand,  and  a  smaller  supply  of  house- 


160  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

hold  workers,  washer-women,  cleaners,  etc.,  than  there  is 
of  the  kind  of  unskilled  labor  generally  done  by  the  men. 
Moreover,  women  who  are  employed  chiefly  within  doors, 
work  in  bad  weather  as  well  as  in  good,  while  men  work 
largely  out  of  doors  and  must  be  "laid  off"  in  unfavorable 
weather.  As  has  been  seen  the  Negro  men  are  concentrated 
in  the  occupations  which  pay  the  least.  They  are  almost  en- 
tirely shut  out  of  the  skilled  trades  and  the  higher  branches 
of  labor.  A  cessation  of  labor  for  two  weeks  or  a  month 
often  means  that  outside  charity  must  help  or  that  crime  must 
be  resorted  to,  in  order  to  make  up  the  deficit,  or  the  family 
sinks  into  almost  hopeless  poverty. 

Then  there  is  the  other  economic  handicap;  poverty 
causes  its  own  perpetuation.  The  Negroes  were  slaves  and 
as  such,  owned  but  little,  and  had  no  large  experience  in  self- 
direction  or  in  independent  initiative.  When  they  were  freed, 
they  were  left  poor.  Like  the  poor  everywhere,  they  have 
to  pay  higher  prices  than  the  well-to-do  pay  for  what  they 
get.  It  is  no  common  thing  for  Negroes  to  pay  $2  and 
$2.50  per  week  for  an  unclean,  poorly  lighted,  poorly  ven- 
tilated and  otherwise  unsanitary  room  and  $3  to  $3.50  per 
week  for  two  rooms  of  this  same  description.  In  such  cases 
the  annual  rental  is  from  20  to  40  per  cent,  of  the  assessed 
value  of  the  property.  In  Philadelphia,  for  instance,  among 
the  many  examples  of  the  excessive  rents  paid  by  the  poor, 
is  a  house  in  a  narrow  twelve  foot  alley  in  which  the  better 
circumstanced  people  put  their  garbage,  which  is  assessed 
at  $1,000.  It  is  a  dilapidated  brick  building,  with  no  modern 
conveniences  and  has  six  rooms.  This  house  is  rented  to 
from  three  to  six  families  and  brings  as  high  as  $32  per 
month,  a  yearly  rental  of  $384.  It  is  occupied  by  poor 
Negroes  who  seek  out  a  living  by  unskilled  labor  and  domestic 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  161 

service.  Every  three  years,  they  pay  more  than  the  assessed 
vakie  of  the  house.  The  rent  which  the  poor  pay  seldom 
decreases.  As  their  number  increases,  their  rent  goes  up. 
As  these  old  buildings  are  torn  down  for  newer  ones  for 
business  purposes,  the  demand  for  the  remaining  shacks  is 
greater  and  the  rent  is  raised — and  rent  miust  be  paid. 

Next  to  rent,  comes  the  price  of  food  and  fuel.  In  pro- 
portion to  what  they  get,  the  poor  pay  enormously  high  prices 
for  these  necessities,  and  are  thus  kept  poor.  They  buy  their 
coal  in  most  cases  by  the  bucket,  and  they  pay  one  hundred 
per  cent,  more  than  the  better  circumstanced  person  who 
buys  by  the  ton.  They  buy  five  cents  worth  of  flour  or  meat ; 
three  cents  worth  of  sugar;  they  take  their  lamps  to  the  shop 
and  have  them  filled  for  a  few  pennies  at  the  time,  but  paying 
an  exorbitant  price  for  the  same.  Not  only  do  they  pay 
proportionately  high  prices  for  what  they  purchase,  but  they 
are  ignorant  of  how  to  use  to  the  best  advantage  what  they 
get.  When  they  are  temporarily  prosperous,  they  are  apt  to 
be  unduly  extravagant,  to  waste  their  money  on  unnecessary 
and  often  unwholesome  luxuries,  only  thenceforth  to  plunge 
themselves  into  deeper  poverty.  This  often  happens  to  those 
who  buy  furniture,  clothes  or  pictures  on  the  installment 
plan,  always  paying  very  high  rates  for  what  they  receive. 
Thus  with  the  Negro  poor,  as  with  the  poor  in  general, 
poverty  tends  to  perpetuate  itself. 

Sickness  is  another  fruitful  cause  of  poverty.  But  it 
is  also  often  a  result  as  well  as  a  cause  of  poverty.  Twenty- 
four  and  five -tenths  per  cent,  of  the  applicants  to  the  charity 
organization  above  referred  to,  gave  sickness  as  the  imme- 
diate cause  of  their  having  to  ask  for  relief  Professor  Du- 
Bois'  family  budgets  show  that  the  poorest  people  pay  the 
highest  doctor's  bill  in  proportion  to  their  income.     He  gives 

11 


162  The  Negro  In  Pennsylvania 

a  family  whose  yearly  expenditure  was  $121.50  and  whose 
bill  for  sickness  in  proportion  was  $10  or  8  per  cent,  of  the 
entire  income;  a  family  of  two  spent  $206  for  all  purposes, 
$15  of  which  was  for  sickness;  a  family  of  four  spent  $338 
and  $40  for  sickness;  another  family  of  four  spent  $520,  but 
only  $10  for  sickness;  a  family  of  seven  spent  $683  of  which 
$50  was  for  sickness  and  "one  of  the  best  families"  consisting 
of  five  persons,  spent  only  $5  for  sickness.  A  conservative 
estimate  places  the  number  of  Negroes  who  are  sick  during 
the  year  at  20,000  in  Philadelphia,  or  about  one-fourth  of  the 
entire  population. 

Not  only  does  sickness  mean  the  paying  of  doctor's  bill, 
but  also  the  loss  of  time  from  work  and  consequently  o\ 
wages.  An  attempt  has  been  made  to  estimate  the  Negroes' 
economic  loss  on  account  of  sickness,  using  for  the  purpose 
the  records  of  the  University  and  the  Frederick  Douglass 
Hospital.  From  January  to  March  30,  1906,  there  were  85 
Negro  patients  in  the  University  Hospital  who  remained  from 
2  days,  the  shortest,  to  64  the  longest.  The  total  length  of 
confinement  was  1,817  days,  or  about  21  days  for  each  pa- 
tient. There  were  thirty  males  and  thirty-five  females — 
persons  whose  average  weekly  wages  was  about  $4.50  for 
women  and  about  $9  for  men,  which  means  about  $18.24  per 
person  for  the  time  lost. 

In  the  Frederick  Douglass  Hospital  (conducted  by  Ne- 
groes) the  record  for  a  longer  time  was  taken  and  the  average 
of  confinement  was  longer. 

Occupation,  days  confined  and  wages  of  patients  in  the 
Frederick  Douglass  Hospital,  Philadelphia : 

Females : 


Occupation 

No. 

Days 

Weekly 

Total 

patients 

confined 

wages 

wages 

Nurse 

3 

104 

$4.50 

$67.00 

Domestic 

41 

II12 

4.50 

779-33 

Maid 

5 

135 

4.00 

77-15 

Housekeeper 

II 

315 

3.00 

135-00. 

A  Study  In  Economic  History 


163 


Occupation 

No.  patients 

Days 

Weekly 

Total 

confined 

wages 

wages 

Chiropodist 

I 

39 

7.00 

39.00 

Cook 

3 

142 

5.00 

101.45 

Laborer 

I 

41 

6.00 

35-vi4 

Laundress 

2 

46 

5.00 

32.85 

Matron 

I 

14 

5.00 

10.00 

Singer 

I 

18 

7.00 

18.00 

Waitress 

2 

30 

3-50 

15.00 

Atd.  school 

5 

103 

Not  given 

2 

56 

3.00 

24.00 

Total 


Males : 


78 


2255 


Total  males        52  1343 

Total  patients   130  3598 


$134.22 


Occupation        No. 

patients 

)     Days 

Weekly 

Total 

confined 

wages 

wages 

Laborer 

24 

661 

9.00 

$850.50 

Caterer 

2 

29 

10.00 

41.00 

Waiter 

6 

129 

10.00 

184.30 

Cook 

2 

36 

10.00 

51.40 

Steward 

2 

99 

12.00 

169.68 

Porter 

6 

192 

ip.oo 

174.30 

Coachman 

2 

72 

10.00 

102.90 

Elevator   opr. 

7 

9.00 

9.00 

Newsboy 

7 

5.00 

5.00 

Marble  dresser 

7 

12.00 

12.00 

Janitor 

14 

10.00 

20.00 

Barber 

14 

10.00 

20.00 

School 

I 

22 

Dentist 

II 

15.00 

23.55 

Not  given 

43 

6.00 

36.00 

$1800.13 
$3144.35 


164  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

. . ^1 

According  to  this  table,  of  the  130  persons  confined  in 
the  hospital,  124  are  workers.  There  were  78  females  and 
52  males.  The  total  confinement  of  females  was" 2,255  days, 
of  males  1,343  days.  -Calculating  the  wages  according  to  cur- 
rent rates,  the  total  loss  in  wages  was  $1,344.22  for  females 
and  $1,800.13  for  males,  a  total  of  $3,144.35  and  an  average  of 
$24.19  per  person. 

None  of  the  cases  reported  in  the  hospitals  was  a  con- 
sumptive who  loses  more  time  than  the  average  sick  person. 
On  account  of  the  prevalence  of  tuberculosis  among  the 
Negroes,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  $500,000  is  a  low  estimate  of 
the  loss  of  annual  wages  of  Philadelphia  Negroes  on  account 
of  sickness  and  this  tends  to  keep  them  poor. 

The  average  age  at  death  of  whites  of  fifteen  years  or 
over  was  53.4  years  and  of  colored  for  the  same  time  was 
44.1,  a  difference  of  9.3  years.  This  latter  record  is  of  much* 
significance,  as  showing  the  length  of  possible  economic  ac- 
tivity of  the  races. 

The  census  gave  no  complete  record  for  Pennsylvania, 
the  state  as  such  not  being  in  the  registration  area.  But  our 
calculations  may  not  be  far  wrong  if  the  average  longevity 
of  the  Negro  for  the  country  is  applied  to  the  state.  It  is 
clear  then,  that  if  the  average  loss  of  the  Negroes  per  person 
is  9.3  years  and  if  the  economic  value  of  each  year  is,  say 
$100,  the  average  economic  loss  of  each  Negro  is  $930.  If 
2,000  Negroes  die  in  a  year  in  Pennsylvania,  the  annual 
economic  loss  is  $1,860,000,  which  is  equal  to  the  annual  in- 
terest at  5  per  cent,  on  $37,200,000. 

Notwithstanding  the  large  amount  of  poverty  among 
Negroes,  they  are  by  no  means  the  chief  contributors  to 
the  pauper  class  of  the  community.  Long  ;experience  in 
stinting  and  in  hereditary  poverty,  has  taught  the  race  ''how 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  165 


to  get  along"  on  a  little,  and  though  this  is  too  often  inju- 
rious both  to  themselves  and  to  the  society  which  makes  it 
necessary,  it  is  the  resort  of  the  vast  majority  of  the  Negro 
poor.  Besides,  there  are  also  numerous  benefit  societies  and 
fraternal  organizations,  churches,  clubs  and  friends  who  as- 
sist their  needy  fellows  when  necessity  arises.  Hence,  as 
compared  with  the  foreign  population,  for  instance,  the  Ne- 
groes show  but  a  small  amount  of  pauperism  in  the  country 
at  large  and  in  the  state  of  Pennsylvania. 

According  to  the  report  of  the  United  States  Census  on 
"Paupers  in  Almshouses"  on  December  31,  1903,  there  were 
6,910  colored  paupers,  who  comprised  12. i  per  cent,  of  the 
81,764  paupers  of  the  entire  country.  In  Pennsylvania  there 
were  361  colored  paupers  out  of  a  total  of  8,693  or  3.99  per 
cent.  There  were  4,089  foreign  born  paupers,  or  45.16  per 
cent.  There  were  41.6  foreign  white  paupers  in  the  Pennsyl- 
vania almshouses  to  every  10,000  white  foreigners;  while 
there  were  22.5  colored  paupers  to  every  10,000  of  the  colored 
population  of  the  state.  During  1904,  there  were  9,738 
paupers  admitted  to  almshouses  in  Pennsylvania  of  whom 
583  were  colored,  4,225  foreign  whites;  4,877  native  whites, 
53  of  unknown  nativity. 

During  the  same  year,  8,550  paupers  were  discharged 
from  almshouses,  of  whom  515  were  colored,  and  Jan- 
uary I,  1905,  there  were  present  in  Pennsylvania  alms- 
houses, 9,513  white  and  429  colored  paupers,  a  total  of  9942 
paupers.  As  compared  with  conditions  before  the  Civil  War, 
there  is  much  evidence  that  the  proportion  of  pauperism 
among  Negroes  has  decreased. 


166  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 


INTER-RACIAL  CONTACT  AND  SOCIAL  PROGRESS 


The  earliest  relations  of  Negroes  and  wliites  in  this  state 
were  as  slaves  and  masters.  Black  servants  were  a  distinct 
group  from  whites  from  the  beginning,  and  public  sentiment 
and  law  both  tend  to  emphasize  this  separation.  In  1700, 
laws  were  brought  before  the  General  Assembly  looking 
toward  separate  criminal  proceedings  for  the  two  races. 

Negroes  early  awakened  suspicion  and  were  deprived 
of  the  privilege  of  carrying  fire-arms,  of  congregating  and 
of  free  movement  on  the  Sabbath  days.  As  early  as  17 14,  a 
group  of  Quakers,  who  as  a  class,  were  always  the  best 
iriends  of  the  Negroes,  passed  a  resolution  to  give  the 
Negroes  a  burial  place  separate  from  the  whites.  Indeed, 
all  through  the  period  of  their  long  and  courageous  activity 
on  behalf  of  the  Negroes,  the  Quakers  always  encouraged  in- 
dependent action  among  them,  believing  that  such  action, 
though  separate  from  the  whites,  gave  Negroes  self-confi- 
dence and  opportunity.  Hence,  they  aided  them  in  establish- 
ing separate  places  of  worship,  separate  schools,  separate 
beneficial  societies,  separate  burying  grounds,  etc. 

Negroes  are  almost  entirely  separate  from  whites  in  the 
church.  They  have  been  so  for  a  century.  The  first  separate 
Negro  church  was  organized  in  Philadelphia  in  the  eigh- 
teenth century,  because  the  white  Christians  would  not  per- 
mit their  black  brethren  to  sit  on  the  same  floor  with  them, 
or  to  kneel  at  the  same  altar.  Negroes  had  to  sit  in  the 
gallery,  or  in  some  part  of  the  church  set  apart  for  them, 
and  were  separated  even  at  the  communion  altar.  They 
naturally  rebelled  against  this  as  being  un-Christian  and  thus 
began  separate  Negro  churches. 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  167 

It  is  quite  significant  that  perhaps  there  is  no  part  of 
our  social  hfe  where  the  races  are  so  distinct  as  they  are  in 
the  church,  which  in  theory,  at  least,  is  the  strongest  advo- 
cate for  fellowship  and  brotherhood.  To-day  the  great  mass 
of  Negroes  never  enter  a  church  where  whites  worship.  Two- 
thirds  of  the  Negro  church  members  are  Methodists  and  Bap- 
tists and  have  their  own  conferences  and  conventions,  bishops 
and  executive  general  officers,  as  well  as  their  own  pastors. 
They  are  therefore,  outside  of  the  influence  of  the  whites. 
Only  a  few  Episcopalians,  CathoHcs,  Presbyterians,  and  one 
group  of  Methodists  have  white  supervision.  The  separation 
has  done  much  to  develop  leadership  among  Negroes;  it 
has  also  robbed  both  the  Negro  and  the  white  church  of  a 
great  deal  of  sympathy  for  one  another,  and  consequent 
spiritual  development. 

Not  only  are  the  clergy  of  the  common  Christ  in  but 
little  touch  with  one  another  but  still  less,  the  laity,  so  far 
as  church  affairs  are  concerned.  The  Episcopalian  Church 
has  an  association  which  is  supposed  to  bring  together  Ne- 
groes and  whites,  but  so  far  as  the  local  influence  is  con- 
cerned, it  is  but  small.  A  few  Negroes  attend  the  churches 
of  the  whites,  but  the  number  is  decreasing.  Where  they 
attend  in  large  numbers,  they  are  often  advised  to  withdraw 
and  form  a  separate  church;  where  there  are  large  numbers 
of  children  in  the  Sunday  School,  they  are  in  separate  classes 
or  a  separate  school  is  formed.  In  Philadelphia  several 
hundred  Negroes  are  connected  with  one  of  the  largest  Epis- 
copal Churches,  as  members  of  the  church  and  pupils  in 
the  Sabbath  School.  In  the  church  report  of  1906,  however, 
a  separate  Negro  school  building  was  recommended.  Very 
few  of  the  churches  have  white  pastors.  The  Negroes  pre- 
fer to  have  ministers  of  their  own  race  and  in  no  case  doe? 


168  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

the  white  clergyman  minister  to  a  large  Negro  congrega- 
tion. 

Negro  Methodist  clergymen  are  further  removed  from  the 
white  clergy  except  in  one  branch.  In  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal' Church,  there  is  a  separate  conference,  but  the  pre- 
siding bishop  is  white,  and  most  of  the  general  officers  are 
also  white.  The  annual  conference  is  a  part  of  the  general 
conference  which  is  composed  of  both  whites  and  Negroes. 
The  Baptists  were,  up  to  but  a  few  years  ago,  members  of  the 
Baptist  Association,  which  makes  no  distinction  in  color.  But 
with  the  great  increase  of  Negro  Baptists,  they  have  estab- 
lished separate  bodies  of  their  own.  There  is  now  a  colored 
Baptist  Association  in  Pennsylvania  which  is  not  associated 
with  white  Baptists.  Both  the  Methodists  and  Baptists  main- 
tain in  the  larger  places,  Pittsburg  and  Philadelphia,  separate 
ministers'  meetings   for  the  discussion  of  local  topics. 

The  Episcopal  churches  are  organized  in  the  main,  along 
racial  lines,  yet  they  are  not  supervised  by  Negroes.  Some 
of  the  vestrymen  in  Episcopal  churches  are  white  and  some 
Negro  churches  have  White  pastors.  The  church  convoca- 
tions include  Negroes  as  wxll  as  whites.  In  the  publication 
of  the  minutes  of  the  General  Assembly,  the  Negro  ministers 
and  churches  are  not  named  according  to  color.  There  is,  how- 
ever, among  the  Negro  clergy  of  the  state  almost  entirely 
unanimity  with  regard  to  the  advisability  of  appointing  sep- 
arate Negro  bishops  for  Negro  dioceses  in  the  South.  In 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  the  Negroes  as  a  rule,  are  separated 
from  the  whites  in  individual  churches.  The  clergymen,  how- 
ever, are  members  of  the  same  Presbyteries  and  Synods 
v/ithout  distinction  of  color.  Unlike  the  Episcopalians,  the 
Presbyterian  clergy  opposed  separate  Presbyteries  when  the 
General  Assembly  several  years  ago  sent  the  suggestion  down 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  169 

to  the  various  Presbyteries  to  be  voted  upon.  In  the  CathoHc 
Churches  there  are  no  Negro  clergymen  in  this  state.  The 
ministers  of  the  Congregational  Churches  are  all  Negroes. 

The  contact  of  the  races  is  closer  in  the  schools  than  in 
the  churches.  While  a  large  percentage  of  the  colored 
children  are  segregated  in  the  public  schools,  they  are  largely 
taught  by  the  white  teachers  and  go  to  schools  attended  by 
Negroes  and  whites  alike.  In  many  of  the  high  schools  and 
colleges  of  the  state,  the  races  go  side  by  side  and  there  the 
Negro  boys  and  girls  have  the  opportunity  to  compare  them- 
selves with  their  fairer  schoolmates.  In  the  schools,  how- 
ever, there  have  been  two  forces  at  work  tending  toward 
separation.  On  the  one  hand,  there  is  the  positive  desire  of 
a  larger  number  of  Negroes  chiefly  immigrants  from  the 
South,  for  separate  schools,  such  as  they  have  been  ac- 
customed to  in  that  section.  More  often  this  demand  is 
brought  forth  more  forcibly  because  of  the  desire  to  have 
Negro  teachers.  Of  late  years  this  spirit  has  had  considerable 
growth  because  of  the  increase  of  race  prejudice  in  the 
country  causing  many  Negroes  to  doubt  whether  white 
teachers  can  efficiently  teach  their  children.  On  the  other 
hand  there  is  the  increasing  unwillingness  on  the  part  of  the 
white  parents  to  have  their  children  go  to  the  same  school 
with  Negroes.  This  has  increased  almost  in  proportion  to 
the  growth  of  population.  It  is  also  seen, in  the  attitude  of 
the  pupils.  One  very  rarely  sees  Negro  and  white  girls  play- 
ing together  at  school,  or  coming  together  in  the  same  group 
from  school.  Though  they  may  have  the  same  recess,  and 
may  be  engaged  in  the  same  kind  of  play,  they  are  generally 
separated  of  their  own  accord.  I  am  informed  that  there 
are  but   few   friendships   between  the   Negro   and  the   white 


170  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

children  in  the  schools  as  compared  with  former  times.  The 
awakening  of  the  Negro's  racial  self-consciousness  also  keeps 
Negroes  from  forcing  themselves  upon  whites,  even  among 
children,  where  there  is  the  slightest  hint  that  they  are  not 
wanted. 

Equality  in  the  privileges  of  common  comforts  and  com- 
mon carriers  was  at  one  time  denied  Negroes  throughout  the 
State.  Indeed  as  late  as  1865,  Negroes  were  not  permitted  to 
ride  in  the  street  cars  of  Philadelphia  and  were  often  assault- 
ed for  attempting  to  board  cars.  A  pamphlet  entitled  "Why 
Colored  People  are  Excluded  from  Street  Cars"  published  in 
1866  gives  a  full  account  of  these  outrages.  On  one  occa- 
sion a  Negro  was  ejected  by  a  policeman;  the  matter  was 
complained  of  to  the  Mayor  (Henry),  who  is  reported  to 
have  said  concerning  the  ejectment,  "it  was  not  by  my  order, 
but  with  my  knowledge  and  approbation.  I  do  not  wish  the 
ladies  of  my  family  to  ride  in  cars  with  colored  people."  A 
bill  to  prevent  this  discrimination  was  passed  by  the  State 
Senate,  but  never  came  to  a  vote  in  the  House.  Courts  were 
importuned,  but  to  no  avail.  A  committee  appointed  to  help 
obtain  the  privileges  of  the  cars  for  Negroes  in  1865,  reported 
tliat  it  had  "attempted  to  bring  suits  for  assault  in  seven  dif- 
rent  cases  of  ejectment,  all  of  which  had  been  ignored  by 
various  grand  juries."  In  one  case,  a  white  man,  a  highly  re- 
spected physician,  who  interposed,  by  remonstrance  only,  to 
prevent  the  ejectment  of  a  colored  man,  was  himself  ejected. 
He  brought  action  for  assault  and  his  complaint  was  ignored. 
The  last  case  of  ejection,  was  that  of  a  young  woman,  so  light 
of  color  that  she  was  mistaken  for  white  and  invited  into  a 
car  of  the  Union  Line  by  its  conductor.  When  he  found  she 
was  colored,  he  ejected  her  with  violence  and  somewhat  to 
her  personal  injury.  This  state  of  affairs  did  not  last  long. 
March  22,  1867,  a  bill  was  passed  designed  to  give  Negroes 
the  same  rights  on  railways  as  whites.     Later,  a  bill  to  pro- 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  111 

vide  "Civil  Rights  for  all  People  Regardless  of  Race  or  Col- 
or," w^as  passed  by  the  legislature  to  prevent  any  discrimina- 
tion against  Negroes  in  cars,  hotels,  restaurants,  theatres  and 
other  public  places  of  convenience  and  amusement.  The  law, 
hov^^ever,  did  not  cause  discrimination  to  entirely  disappear, 
for  it  still  exists.  In  the  street  cars,  on  the  railroads,  and  in 
some  hotels  and  restaurants,  Negroes  have  the  same  treat- 
ment as  whites,  but  in  most  hotels  and  restaurants  they  do 
not.  In  the  large  cities,  there  are  restaurants  and  hotels 
W'here  it  is  known  that  Negroes  will  not  be  served.  There 
are  also  theatres  where  Negroes  have  been  refused  seats  in 
parts  of  the  house  in  which  they  wished  to  sit.  In  this  kind 
of  discrimination,  Pittsburg  is  worse  than  Philadelphia.  As  a 
rule,  however,  Negroes  do  not  go  to  the  places  where  they 
are  not  desired. 

By  common  consent  of  both  races,  it  appears  that  sepa- 
rate barber  shops  for  Negroes  and  whites  exist  even  in  the 
smallest  towns,  no  matter  whether  the  proprietor  is  white  or 
black.  Negroes  conduct  barber  shops  for  whites  only,  and  in 
Pittsburg,  a  white  man  conducts  a  barber  shop  for  Negroes 
only. 

Under  the  law  prohibiting  discrimination  on  account  of 
color,  the  numerous  cases  which  have  been  brought,  have 
usually  turned  out  unsatisfactorily  to  the  Negro  complainant. 
There  are  two  possible  modes  of  procedure  under  the  law 
for  the  offended  Negro  against  the  party  discriminating.  One 
is  to  sue  for  damages  in  the  civil  court  and  the  other  is  to  have 
the  offender  arrested  for  misdemeanor  and  tried  before  the 
criminal  courts.  The  act  provides  for  a  fine  of  not  less  than 
$50,  or  more  than  $100.  But  neither  of  these  have  accom- 
plished the  purpose  of  the  law.  Where  the  proprietor  is  bent 
on  violating  the  intent  of  the  law,  he  is  generally  able  to  do  so. 
For  example,  in  some  restaurants  in  Philadelphia,  the  Negro 
is  merely  ignored  and  when  he  complains  the  proprietor  sim- 


The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 


ply  begs  pardon  and  declares  the  matter  an  oversight.  He 
may  then  be  served,  but  to  save  his  own  feelings  he  seldom 
returns  to  that  restaurant.  In  Pittsburg,  however,  the  means 
are  often  different.  In  the  Pittsburg  Dairy  Lunch  Room, 
and  other  cheap  restaurants  and  lunch  places,  where  people 
of  moderate  means  go  the  waiters  put  a  tablespoonful  of  salt 
in  the  coffee,  or  a  teaspoonful  of  pepper  in  the  milk  sold  to  a 
Negro ;  or  charge  him  25c  for  a  cup  of  coffee  or  a  sandwich 
which  is  usually  sold  for  five  cents.  In  some  ice  cream  parlors 
of  the  city,  the  same  method  is  pursued.  Still  it  has  been  very 
difficult  for  Negroes  to  have  the  proprietors  convicted.  This 
disposition  to  discriminate  against  Negroes  has  greatly  in- 
creased within  the  last  decade. 

In  lines  of  labor,  as  has  been  seen,  with  the  exception  of 
the  miners  and  hod-carriers,  the  great  mass  of  Negroes  are 
without  direct  connection  with  the  labor  union  movement  and 
most  of  them  look  upon  the  movement  as  antagonistic  to-  their 
best  interests.  But  not  only  in  labor  union  circles,  is  there 
indifference  toward  Negro  labor,  but  elsewhere.  In  very  few 
lines  of  work,  do  Negroes  and  whites  work  together,  side  by 
side.  In  a  department  store  all  of  the  salesmen  and  sales- 
women are  white,  while  the  elevator  men  and  caretakers 
may  be  colored.  On  a  building,  the  bricklayers  are  generally 
white,  the  hod-carriers  may  be  Negroes.  Even  where  there 
is  unskilled  labor  there  is  generally  a  separation,  one  gang 
ib  composed  of  Italians,  another  of  Negroes,  as  was  the  case 
on  the  Philadelphia  subway  and  other  pubHc  works.  Often, 
to  put  a  Negro,  no  matter  how  efficient  he  is,  to  work  in  -a 
group  of  whites,  will  mican  violent  protest  or  a  strike.  In  as- 
phalt laying  and  unskilled  railroad  work,  however,  it  is  com- 
mon to  see  Negroes  and  whites  working  together,  sometimes 
tmder  a  Negro  foreman. 

Even  in  domestic  service  where  there  are  two  or  more 
employes,  they  are  generally  all  white  or  all  Negroes.     In  ho- 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  173 

tels  and  resturants,  waiters  and  bellmen  are  all  white  or  all 
black,  except  where  there  is  a  white  head  waiter,  or  white 
head  bellman  or  elevator  starter,  who  has  been  placed  as  su- 
pervisor over  Negroes.  In  a  few  private  establishments  an 
individual  Negro  here  and  there  has  worked  himself  up  into 
a  place  of  responsibility  and  sometimes  authority,  where  his 
working  associates  are  not  of  the  race  to  which  he  belongs. 
In  one  of  the  leading  architectural  establishments  in  Phila- 
delphia, an  exceptionally  bright  Negro  is  head  draughtsman, 
and  in  the  office  of  the  Vice  President  of  a  Steel  Company  in 
Pittsburg,  a  Negro  is  private  secretary,  but  cases  like  these 
are  rare.  The  great  majority  of  Negroes  work  among  men 
of  their  own  race  or  they  are  occupying  menial  positions. 
They  are,  as  a  rule,  shut  out  of  competition  by  reasons  of  their 
race.  Just  as  the  Christian  Brotherhood  does  not  seriously 
include  Negroes,  so  the  labor  fraternity  does  not  include  them. 

As  a  rule,  the  business  of  Negroes  is  done  by  whites. 
In  this  the  Jews  have  a  very  large  share.  They  live  among 
the  Negroes,  often  until  they  can  get  a  start,  under  worse 
conditions  than  the  Negroes,  and  sell  to  them.  Negroes  buy 
groceries,  shoes,  clothing  of  all  kinds  chiefly  from  whites. 
They  rent  chiefly  from  whites;  they  buy  their  land  from 
whites  and  have  w^hite  men  build  their  houses.  But  Negroes 
are  gradually  getting  control  of  a  small  proportion  of  the 
business  of  their  race  and  indications  are  that  in  some  lines 
a  much  larger  proportion  will  be  secured  by  them. 

In  philanthropic  work  for  the  Negro,  many  whites  are 
directly  engaged.  In  Philadelphia,  there  are  three  social  set- 
tlements: Starr  Centre,  on  Lombard  Street,  founded  in 
1892 ;  The  Eighth  Ward  Settlement,  on  Locust  Street,  found- 
ed 1897  j  s^d  the  Spring  Street  Mission  Settlement,  on  Spring 
Street,  founded  in  1906;  all  of  which  are  supported  and 
managed  by  white  people  and  are  doing  valuable  social  work. 
At  the  largest  of  these  settlements,   the   Starr  Centre,  there 


174  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

are  many  Jews  and  Italians,  as  well  as  Negroes,  among  the 
beneficiaries.  In  the  Kindergarten  at  the  Eighth  Ward  So- 
cial Settlement,  there  are  Negro,  ItaHan,  Jewish,  American 
white  and  Chinese  children.  Several  other  institutions  for 
Negroes:  day  nurseries,  Sunday  Schools,  missions,  private 
schools,  homes  for  children  are  supported  entirely  by  whites. 
In  Philadelphia,  such  helpful  institutions  as  the  House  of  the 
Holy  Child,  the  Wissahickon  Boys'  Club,  are  conducted  per- 
sonally by  whites.  But  all  of  these  institutions  have  as  their 
purpose  the  amelioration  of  conditions  among  Negroes  and 
the  contact  is  of  benefactor  and  beneficiary  and  not  of  social 
equals. 

Although  the  law  against  inter-marriage  in  Pennsylva- 
nia was  repealed  more  than  a  century  ago,  there  has  been  but 
little  marriage  between  blacks  and  whites.  According  to  the 
records  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  there  were  during  the 
years,  1901,  1902,  1903,  1904  only  21  marriages  of  this  kind. 
In  1900  there  were  six  cases  of  inter-marriage  out  of  633 
marriages.  Three  Negro  men,  aged  26,  35  and  40,  respect- 
ively, married  three  white  women,  aged  26,  23  and  28,  re- 
spectively; and  three  white  men  aged  26,  29  and  34  years,  re- 
spectively, married  three  Negro  women,  aged  28,  33  years, 
and  of  unknown  age,  respectively.  There  were  more  inter- 
marriages when  there  were  fewer  Negroes  than  there  are 
to-day.  Of  three  white  women  above  mentioned,  one  was 
born  in  the  South  (Virginia),  one  in  Philadelphia,  and  one 
in  Ireland ;  the  white  men  were  from  Philadelphia,  New  Jer- 
sey and  Wales.  Professor  Du  Bois  found  38  cases  of  inter- 
marriages in  the  Seventh  Ward  of  Philadelphia  and  esti- 
mated 150  for  the  city.  In  Pittsburg  the  number  is  estimated 
at  50.  In  other  places  in  the  State  where  the  Negro  popula- 
tion is  smaller,  the  actual  counting  is  possible,  there  is  an  ag- 
gregate of  less  than  sixty  cases.  The  number  of  known  cases 
is   small.     The   so-called  mixed   marriages  are   not  approved 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  175 


by  either  the  white  or  Negro  group.  Negro  women  especially 
object.  When,  however,  such  marriages  are  consummated  in 
spite  of  Negro  public  opinion,  the  couple  is  almost  always  os- 
tracized by  the  Negroes.  Perhaps  there  is  no  more  pathetic 
injustice  inflicted  by  Negroes  than  the  cruel  scorn  and  con- 
tempt which  they  show  toward  those  who  have  chosen  to 
marry  "outside  the  race."  In  church,  or  society,  there  is  very 
little  opportunity  for  such  persons  and  though  no  law  pre- 
vents, there  are  very  few  persons  who  dare  disregard  this 
public  opinion. 

Though  there  is  but  little  contact  between  the  races  at 
the  top,  there  is  but  little  to  keep  them  apart  in  the  lower  world. 
In  the  lowest  stratum,  the  blacks  and  whites  meet  in  prosti- 
tution and  vice.  There  are  in  the  slums  both  of  Pittsburg  and 
Philadelphia,  and  to  an  extent,  in  the  smaller  cities,  frequent 
cases  of  cohabitation  chiefly  of  white  women  and  Negro 
men,  less  frequently  of  white  men  and  Negro  women.  It  is 
impossible  to  give  the  number  of  cases.  Now  and  then,  they 
come  up  in  the  Police  Court,  such  as  the  following  cases 
copied  from  the  records  of  the  Nineteenth  District  Police 
Station : 

1.  August  6,   1906,   for  keeping  disorderly   house  

Rodman  Street,  John  H.  ,  James  H ,  both  colored, 

aged  26  and  29  years,  given  30  days  in  prison,   and   Mary 

,  white,  born  in  the  United  States,  aged  39,  married  (not, 

to  either  of  the  men  above  mentioned),   six  months   in  the 

House  of  Correction,  and  colored  girl,  aged  13,  sent 

to  House  of  Detention.  One  of  the  men  was  afterward  tried 
for  rape  on  the  colored  girl. 

2.  August  20,  Mary  W.  ,  aged  27,  colored,     and 

Mary  D.  ,  aged  25,  white,   12 Pine  Street;  colored 

woman  discharged,  white  woman  given  15  months  in  House 
of  Correction  as  **idle  and  disorderly  character." 

3.  August  26,  3  A.  M.,  at  15th  and  Pine  Streets,  Mary 


176  The  Negro  In  Pennsylvania 

B.  ,  aged  25   years,  colored,   residence   16 Lombard 

Street,  and  L.   P.  T.  ,   white,   residence  8 N.  42nd 

Street,  charged  with  disorderly  conduct;  discharged  7:30  A. 
iM. 

4.  September  13,  Mary  S.  ,  colored,  aged  36,  re- 
sisting officer,  and  selling  Hquor  without  license;  Bessie  W, 

Mamie  ,  Annie  ,  colored,  aged  21,  34,  34,  all 

single,  inmates,  5   days  in  House  of   Correction,   and  Joseph 

,   aged  21,   white,  inmate,   sentenced   10  days  in   County 

Prison. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  studies  of  the  American 
Race  Problem  is  that  of  the  Mulatto.  This  paragraph  will 
deal  only  with  one  phase  of  the  mulatto  question,  which  may 
throw  light  on  the  economic  aspects  of  the  problem.  There 
are  in  both  Pittsburg  and  Philadelphia  a  number  of  persons 
with  Negro  blood  in  them,  fair  enough  to  'pass  as  white  per- 
sons. These  are,  as  a  rule,  the  sons  and  daughters  of  South- 
ern white  men  and  mulatto  women,  and  in  some  cases  of  rnu- 
latto  men  and  mulatto  women.  In  their  homes  in  another 
part  of  the  country  they  were  known  as  Negroes.  When  they 
migrated  to  the  city,  where  they  were  entirely  unknown  and 
where  their  racial  identity  would  not  be  easily  discovered, 
they  found  themselves  for  the  first  time  able  to  enter  free 
economic  competition.  In  both  of  the  large  cities  there  are 
Negroes  of  this  class,  who  hold  responsible  positions,  which 
they  would  probably  lose  were  it  known  that  they  were  not 
members  of  the  white  race.  Every  well  informed  Negro 
knows  of  such  cases,  but  there  is  but  little  disposition  on  the 
part  of  any  one  to  expose  them,  for  nothing  but  harm  can 
come  of  it  and  most  Negroes  take  the  position  that  these  per- 
sons are  more  white  than  colored  anyway. 

Now  and  then  some  one  of  these  Negroes  is  discovered 
and  his  race  identity  revealed.  The  result  is,  that  he  gen- 
erally loses  his  position  and  is  often  therafter  at  an  economic 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  111 

disadvantage.  Occasionally  the  conscience  of  these  persons 
force  them  to  reveal  their  race.  It  may  be  a  dark  colored 
mother,  or  wife  or  child,  because  of  whom  one  fears  to  in- 
vite his  white  friends  to  visit  his  home,  or  it  may  be  some 
other  fear.  But  often  the  conscience  of  a  Negro  who  is 
"passing  for  white"  troubles  him  and  he  reveals  his  identity. 
Mr.  Ray  Stannard  Baker  mentions  one  such  Philadelphia 
case,  in  his  book,  "Following  the  Color  Line." 

The  Negro  as  a  Negro  is  the  victim  of  race  prejudice. 
But  we  cannot  take  the  time  to  add  to  the  evidence  of  the 
existence  of  prejudice,  but  rather  to  point  out  some  of  the 
consequences.  Race  prejudice,  wherever  it  manifests  itself 
in  any  strong  form,  tends  to  lower  the  economic  efficiency  of 
the  community.  In  Pennsylvania,  as  in  Georgia,  the  Negroes 
being  the  weaker  element  in  population,  suffer  more  from 
it  than  the  whites,  although  the  whites  suffer  some,  as  does 
the  body  politic. 

Pennsylvania  has  had  her  full  quota  of  race  riots.  Fre- 
quent reference  is  made  during  the  early  colonial  days  to  "tu- 
multuous gatherings  of  Negroes."  But  there  is  no  record  dur- 
ing these  times  for  any  very  serious  outbreak  among  Negroes 
in  the  State,  such  for  instance,  as  occurred  in  New  York  in 
1712.  The  riotings  in  which  Negroes  have  been  involved,  have 
been  chiefly  instigated  by  whites.  These  riots  have  had 
largely  an  economic  basis.  During  the  first  half  of  the  past 
century,  while  the  free  Negro  population  was  increasing  quite 
rapidly,  it  came  into  sharp  competition  with  the  foreign  ele- 
ment. Both  these  groups  competed  for  the  unskilled  work  of 
the  community  and  became  natural  enemies.  The  unrest 
among  Negroes  throughout  the  country  and  the  organized  at- 
tempt on  the  part  of  the  American  Colonization  Society  to 
discredit  them,  together  with  their  poverty  and  the  compara- 
tive paucity  of  their  numbers,  put  them  almost  at  the  mercy 
of  their  assailants. 

12 


178  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

From  1829,  until  after  the  Civil  War,  these  riots  occur- 
red at  frequent  intervals.  The  first  of  the  more  important  of 
these,  was  during  June  and  July,  1829,  occasioned  by  a  series 
of  public  addresses  given  in  favor  of  the  cause  of  aboHtion 
by  a  Scotch  woman,  Mrs.  Fannie  Wright  Dartmont.  During 
one  of  the  last  of  these,  in  1871,  Octavius  V.  Catto,  a  very 
highly  respected  school  teacher,  was  murdered  by  those  who 
differed  from  him  and  the  Negro  politically. 

Shut  out  from  the  society  of  whites,  the  Negroes  are  de- 
veloping their  own  society,  and  without  doubt  the  great  mass 
of  them  prefer  the  society  of  their  own  group  to  the  society 
of  an  outside  group.  In  the  cities,  one  can  easily  see  the  so- 
cial divisions  of  Negroes.  Their  groupings  are  chiefly  along 
the  lines  of  culture  and  wealth.  One  finds  a  group  of  well 
educated  men,  largely  in  the  professions  and  business,  who  ■ 
are  the  recognized  leaders  of  their  people  in  social  affairs. 
Then  there  is  a  group  of  skilled  artisans,  not  so  well  educated 
but  often  as  well  off  financially  as  the  better  schooled  group; 
and  next  to  them,  the  domestic  servant  group,  the  unskilled 
laborers  and  lowest  of  all,  the  casual  worker  and  semi- 
criminal.  Between  the  lowest  and  highest  of  these  group- 
ings, there  is  but  little  social  contact.  Business  and  pro- 
fession alone,  carry  the  men  of  the  highest  to  the  men  of  the 
lowest;  the  women  never  meet  except  as  benefactor  and  bene- 
ficiary in  charity.  And  only  of  late  years  has  it  been  possible 
to  interest  the  best  class  of  Negro  women  in  active  philan- 
thropic work  which  took  them  among  the  lower  element,  be- 
cause they  feared  they  might  be  considered  by  the  outside 
white  world  as  members  of  the  group  they  went  to  help. 
Still,  these  groups  shade  almost  imperceptibly  into  one  another. 

Perhaps  there  is  no  better  illustration  of  the  differenti- 
ation which  has  taken  place  in  Negro  society,  than  the  posi- , 
tion  of  the  coachman's  ball,  of  Philadelphia.  Thirty-five  j 
years  ago,  the  chief   function  among  Negroes  was  this  ball. 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  179 

To  gain  admission  one  had  to  he  especially  invited  and  to 
pay  five  dollars.  To-day,  the  coachman's  ball  is  public,  and 
the  admission  fee  is  twenty-five  cents,  which  indicates  its  de- 
cline in  social  importance. 

The  development  of  social  organizations  has  gone  on  very 
rapidly  during  the  past  ten  years.  The  chief  organizations 
were  formerly  along  the  lines  of  vocations,  Caterer's  So- 
cial Club,  Bellman's  Social,  Coachman's  Social,  etc.  These 
still  exist,  but  have  less  prominence  than  formerly.  The 
larger  clubs  are  along  the  line  of  higher  thought.  In  Pitts- 
burg, the  Loendi  Club  is  composed  of  men  of  different  occu- 
pations. It  is  established  as  a  center  of  friendly  intercourse 
among  men  of  some  intellectual  aspiration.  The  club  owns 
a  house  costing  $15,000.  In  Philadelphia,  the  Citizen's  Club 
is  a  social  political  club  which  has  recently  bought  property  at 
$16,500.  There  are  in  Philadelphia  more  than  fifty  social 
clubs.  Some  of  these  are  both  social  and  beneficial.  The  chief 
ones  of  those  and  those  having  their  own  club  rooms  are  the 
Citizen's  Club,  Hotel  Brotherhood,  Corinthian  Club,  Bell- 
man's Club,  Waiters'  Club.  There  are  also  several  literary 
and  musical  associations.  Of  these,  the  principal  ones  are 
the  Philadelphia  Concert  Orchestra,  consisting  of  forty-five 
pieces;  the  Mandolin  Qub;  the  Treble  Clef  Club;  St.  Peter 
Clavier's  Orchestra;  Hobb's  Band  and  Wilmore's  Band.  The 
Philadelphia  Concert  Orchestra  is  the  largest  of  these,  and 
gives  six  concerts  per  season,  always  to  large  audiences.  The 
chief  literary  association  is  the  American  Negro  Historical 
Society,  which  has  a  large  and  valuable  collection  of  books, 
pamphlets,  papers,  pictures,  manuscripts  and  other  records  of 
the  history  of  the  Negro  race.  Other  literary  societies  are 
the  Aurora  Reading  Circle  of  Pittsburg,  composed  chiefly 
of  ladies;  the  Phillis  Wheatley  Literary;  the  Paul  Lawrence 
Dunbar  and  the  J.  C.  Price  Literary  Societies  of  Philadel- 
phia. There  are  several  private  circles  for  the  study  of  lit- 
erature and  for  the  study  of  modern  languages. 


180  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

The  Negroes  have  also  developed  something-  of  a  litera- 
ture of  their  own.  As  early  as  1808,  a  Pennsylvania  Negro 
published  a  pamphlet.  Between  that  time  and  the  Civil  War 
many  pamphlets  were  published  by  men  and  women  of  the 
race.  The  most  ambitious  piece  of  work  done  before  the 
Emancipation,  was  that  of  Rector  William  Douglass,  entitled, 
"The  Annals  of  St.  Thomas'  Episcopal  Church,"  published  in 
1862.  There  have  been  about  fifty  books  and  pamphlets  pub- 
lished by  Negroes  of  the  State,  the  most  important  of  which 
have  been  poems  by  Mrs.  F.  E.  W.  Harper  and  James  E.  Mc- 
Girt,  the  historical  and  theological  works  of  Bishop  B.  T.  Tan- 
ner and  Bishop  Levi  J.  Coppin. 

The  Negro  race  has  been  looked  upon  as  objects  of  char- 
ity largely  since  the  early  settlement  of  Pennsylvania,  but  dur- 
ing this  time  the  more  fortunate  have  always  assisted  the  less 
fortunate.  In  recent  years  there  has  been  considerable  devel- 
opment in  charitable  efforts.  The  Home  for  the  Aged  and  In- 
firm Colored  People,  which  was  founded  in  1864  largely 
through  the  beneficence  of  Stephen  Smith,  a  Negro  lumber 
m^erchant  and  minister,  now  has  property  worth  a  quarter  of 
a  million  dollars.  More  than  a  score  of  Negroes  have  con- 
tributed to  this  work.  The  Board  of  Managers  are  both  whites 
and  Negroes.  William  Still,  a  Negro  coal  dealer,  was  once  its 
president.  The  institution  now  accom.modates  one  hundred 
and  forty  inmates,  and  is  one  of  the  largest  of  its  kind  in  the' 
country.  All  of  its  officers  and  employees  are  Negroes.  In 
Philadelphia  is  the  Priscilla  Home  for  Aged  Colored  Men  and 
Women,  which  was  started  in  1897  by  women  connected  with 
the  Zion  Baptist  Church.  This  institution  is  small  yet  and 
without  any  endowment.  In  Pittsburg  is  the  Home  for  Aged 
and  Infirm  Colored  Women,  which  was  started  by  Negro  wom- 
en in  1880;  in  1890,  a  home  was  built  which,  with  furnishings, 
cost  $52,900.  It  has  twenty-eight  rooms,  including  six  bath- 
rooms and  a  large  hospital  room.    The  Board  of  Managers,  as 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  181 

well  as  the  salaried  officials  and  employees  are  Negroes.  In 
1907,  it  received  aid  from  the  Pennsylvania  Legislature.  At 
Ruffsdale,  an  'Aged  Minister's  and  Laymen's  Home"  was 
founded  in  1902,  principally  through  the  efforts  of  Rev.  R.  C, 
Fox,  a  Baptist  minister  in  Pittsburg.  This  is  supported  chiefly 
by  the  Baptists  of  Central  and  Western  Pennsylvania.  The 
Pennsylvania  Grand  Lodge  of  Masons  have  also  purchased 
land  for  the  erection  of  a  home  to  be  located  near  Harrisburg, 
for  the  aged  of  their  race. 

Next  to  the  aged  and  infirm,  come  several  institutions  for 
young  women,  many  of  whom  immigrate  from  the  South  to 
the  State  and  are  often  without  any  family  ties  in  the  places  to 
which  they  have  come.  The  Young  Women's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation, a  small  institution,  was  established  in  1902  in  Philadel- 
phia. The  same  year  the  Industrial  School  for  Colored  Girls 
was  begun  in  Pittsburg.  Like  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.,  it  still  rents  its 
house  and  is  able  to  reach  only  a  few,  accommodating  with 
room  and  board  only  eight  or  ten  at  the  time  but  keeping  in 
touch  with  a  larger  number  who  work  at  domestic  service. 
The  Association  for  the  Protection  of  Colored  Women  was  es- 
.tablished  in  1905,  in  Philadelphia.  It  furnishes  a  home  for 
working  women,  having  classes  in  domestic  art,  a  working 
women's  club,  and  an  officer  at  the  docks  to  meet  the  young 
women  who  come  in  from  the  South  on  the  boats.  This  asso- 
ciation is  now  buying  its  new  home.  There  is  a  chain  of  these 
associations ;  one  in  Norfolk,  one  in  Washington,  one  in  New 
York,  one  in  Boston,  and  one  in  Philadelphia,  which  is  the  na- 
tional headquarters. 

In  Philadelphia,  the  Woman's  Union  Day  Nursery,  707 
South  Nineteenth  Street,  is  supported  by  colored  women  who 
are  purchasing  a  house.  The  nursery  has  about  thirty-five 
children  a  day.  In  Pittsburg  a  movement  is  now  on  foot 
among  Negroes  for  a  day  nursery  for  Negro  children,  since 
no   Negro  children  are  admitted  into  the   existing  day  nur- 


182  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 


series.  The  Federation  of  Colored  Women's  Clubs  of  the 
State  also  is  making  an  effort  to  establish  an  Orphan  Home 
for  Negro  Girls.  The  above  institutions  are  the  most  impor- 
tant efforts  of  the  Negroes  to  assist  one  another. 

;  :  CONCLUSIONS. 


It  was  not  my  intention  at  first  to  write  any  word  of  per- 
sonal conclusion;  but  merely  to  describe  the  economic  condi- 
tion of  Negroes  in  this  State.  But  because  the  Negro  has  been 
looked  upon  so  long  as  a  "problem,"  and  is  to-day  largely 
treated  as  such,  it  seems  well  to  append  a  few  practical  con- 
clusions. For  after  all,  one  who  has  taken  special  pains  to 
study  a  situation,  ought  to  be  able  to  present  some  conclusions 
at  least  interesting,  and  not  entirely  without  value. 

A  survey  of  the  history  of  the  Negro  is  a  most  fruitful 
study,  in  that  it  shows  the  various  changes  in  the  problem  of 
the  Negro  and  the  difference  in  the  attitudes  of  the  various 
people  or  groups  of  people  approaching  the  problem  at  differ- 
ent times.  Only  after  one  has  obtained  knowledge  of  the  his- 
tory, is  he  fully  competent  to  deal  with  present  problems,  and 
then  he  is  less  certain  than  ever  that  any  of  the  ordinary  prob- 
lems of  life  are  particularly  Negro  problems. 

There  is  always  great  difficulty  in  discussing  any  social 
problem,  and  especially  a  race  problem.  The  whole  system  of 
education  of  every  race  is  generally  such  as  to  inspire  its  chil- 
dren with  belief  in  its  superiority.  The  Greeks  divided  the 
world  into  Greeks  and  barbarians ;  the  Romans  into  Romans 
and  plebians;  the  Hebrews  into  Israelites — God's  chosen  peo- 
ple— and  gentiles.  Ask  a  German  boy  what  is  the  greatest  na- 
tion, and  he  says  Germany,  and  the  American  boy,  America. 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  183 

Of  course  all  cannot  be  absolutely  correct.  But  each  is  correct 
from  his  own  standpoint,  for  the  superiority  of  his  race  has  al- 
ways been  impressed  upon  him. 

Trained  to  believe  one  thing,  it  is  very  difficult  for  men  to 
be  fair  when  they  deal  with  racial  and  national  differences. 
This  is  especially  difficult  in  the  case  of  the  judgments  of  a 
stronger  people  with  regard  to  a  weaker. 

In  dealing  with  the  Negro  it  is  difficult  for  the  community 
as  a  whole  to  do  the  race  justice.  The  old  instinct  in  all  of  us 
which  prompts  us  to  magnify  the  evil  and  minimize  the  good 
of  a  group,  different  from  ours,  affects  the  Negro  in  all  walks 
of  life.  White  men  do  not  associate  with  the  best  Negroes; 
they  rarely  enter  their  homes;  they  are  excluded  from  their 
social  circles;  they  cannot  become  members  of  their  secret  so- 
cieties ;  they  do  not  become  members  of  their  churches ;  they 
are  seldom  business  partners  and  they  cannot  know  the  inside 
life  of  the  higher  group  of  Negroes.  On  the  other  hand,  they 
are  often  benefactors  of  the  poorer  Negroes ;  they  meet  the 
criminal  Negro  in  the  court,  the  pauper  at  the  poorhouse ;  they 
have  the  servant  in  their  kitchen,  and  they  read  the  newspapers 
in  which  are  sensational  reports  of  Negro  crimes,  written  by 
reporters,  most  of  them  who  never  saw  the  inside  of  the  homes 
of  the  well-to-do  Negro. 

It  is  not  an  exaggeration  to  state  that  the  community  as 
a  whole,  is  ignorant  of  the  real  life  of  Negroes.  It  is  a  very 
rare  thing  to  find  a  white  man  who  rightly  interprets  the  facts 
which  have  come  to  him  regarding  Negro  life.  It  is  difficult 
for  trained  investigators  to  secure  accurate  information,  espe- 
cially, if  these  investigators  be  white.  Time  was  when  a  Ne- 
gro would,  for  the  mere  asking,  or  in  order  to  secure  syrn- 
pathy,  reveal  his  life  to  the  Northern  white  man ;  but  that  time 
has  passed  in  Pennsylvania  at  least,  and  they  are  few  and  for- 
tunate indeed  to  whom  the  Negro,  intelligent  or  ignorant,  will 
reveal  his  soul. 


184  The  Negro  In  Pennsylvania 

Yet,  in  spite  of  this  difficulty  in  securing  reliable  informa- 
tion, and  the  greater  difficulty  in  interpreting  the  same,  it  is  : 
quite  common  to  find  men  and  women  with  decided  views  as  ' 
to  the  Negro's  capacity,  his  rights,  his  limitations,  his  suffrage  ; 
and  all  questions  bearing  on  the  race.  The  basis  of  their  con-  • 
elusions  is  often  some  isolated  incident.  One  man  believes  Ne- 
groes all  ought  to  be  chiefly  domestics,  because  he  has  a  good 
Negro  domestic;  another  says  Negro  domestics  are  degenerat- 
ing, because  he  has  one  or  two  incompetent  servants.  An- 
other says  Negroes  are  corrupting  politics  because  he  has 
bought  some  few  Negro  votes,  or  knows  some  white  men  who 
have  done  so.  Another  says  the  Negroes  are  mentally  deficient, 
because  he  has  happened  to  come  across  two  or  three  feeble- 
minded Negro  children.  A  very  interesting  case  was  brought 
to  the  writer's  attention  by  a  highly  honored  citizen  of  Phila- 
delphia. A  Negro  boy  who  had  been  very  backward  in  his 
studies,  was  brought  to  his  attention.  He  had  the  boy  ex- 
amined by  one  of  the  leading  psychological  specialists  in  the 
country.  This  eminent  gentleman  said  that  the  deficiency  was 
entirely  racial.  Not  being  satisfied,  my  friend  sent  the  boy  to 
another  special  school  presided  over  by  another  specialist.  The 
latter  said  that  the  boy's  mind  was  entirely  normal;  but  that 
he  was  kept  backward  because  of  poor  nutrition.  Better  food 
was  given,  and  now  the  boy  is  all  right.  The  case  was  not 
racial  at  all. 

So  common  ii  this  error  among  intelligent  and  honorable 
white  persons,  that  it  is  the  usual  thing  to  hear  one  Negro  say 
to  another,  who  is  going  to  work  with  some  influential  white 
person :  ''Be  careful,  for  the  whole  race  depends  upon  you. 
Whatever  you  do,  if  it  be  wrong,  he  (i.  e.,  the  white  employer) 
will  think  we  all  do,"  or,  "if  you  do  well,  you  will  make  friends 
for  the  race."  One  of  the  most  cultured  Negro  ministers  of 
Philadelphia  speaking  to  an  intelligent  congregation  recently, 
with  regard  to  the  Negro  servant  class,  made  his  plea  as  fol-  J 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  185 

lows:  **You  all  ought  to  be  interested  in  them  for  every  one 
of  them  is  a  missionary  to  the  white  people.  The  whites  will 
not  judge  the  race  by  you,  or  by  me;  they  do  not  know  our 
homes,  our  business,  or  our  society;  but  they  will  judge  b;^ 
these  servants."  Continuing,  he  said:  ''You  may  look  down 
upon  them,  but  in  a  way,  they  have  more  weight  in  in- 
fluencing the  country  than  you  and  I  have,  and  for  that  rea- 
son, if  no  other,  we  must  help  them.  Our  people  are  peculiar. 
We  are  judged  by  our  lower  class,  while  others  are  judged  by 
their  upper  class." 

Many  confuse  the  problem  of  the  N^^ro  with  problems 
of  ignorance,  or  crime,  inefficiency  and  other  pathological  con- 
ditions. This  arises  from  a  lack  of  careful  analysis  of  every  as- 
pect of  the  so-called  problem.  The  Negro  problem  in  Penn- 
sylvania certainly  is  not  a  problem  of  ignorance ;  for  ignorance 
as  indicated  by  illiteracy  is  neither  peculiar  to  the  Negroes  or 
common  to  them,  or  characteristic  of  them.  In  Pennsylvania, 
there  were  in  1900,  191,706  illiterate  persons  over  10  years  of 
age,  of  whom  only  19,532  were  Negroes,  a  small  proportion  of 
the  whole.  Thus  illiteracy,  representing  ignorance,  is  not  pe- 
culiar to  the  Negroes.  Nor  is  illiteracy  common  to  them,  for 
there  were  109,403  literate  Negroes  and  only  19,532  illiterate 
Negroes,  or  nearly  six  times  as  many  literate  as  illiterate  over 
10  years  of  age  in  the  State.  Nor  is  the  Negro  race  more  il- 
literate than  other  groups,  for  it  has  been  shown  that  the  il- 
literacy of  the  foreign  group  in  Pennsylvania  is  much  larger 
than  that  of  the  Negro  group  in  this  State. 

The  preceding  discussion  has  shown  also  that  the  Negro 
problem  is  not  one  of  crime.  In  Pennsylvania  there  were  2215 
whites  and  606  Negroes  in  the  penitentiaries  on  December  31, 
1908,  and  in  Philadelphia  the  same  year  nine  whites  were  ar- 
rested to  one  Negro.  Although  there  is  very  much  of  a  prob- 
lem of  crime  among  Negroes,  there  certainly  is  no  reason  to 
think  that  the  "Negro  Problem"  is  a  problem  of  crime.     Nor 


186  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

is  it  a  problem  of  inefficiency.  There  are  no  accurate  statistics 
of  inefficiency,  but  the  statistics  of  pauperism  may  be  used  to 
show  certain  tendencies  as  regards  inefficiency;  for  pauperism 
represents  the  lowest  industrial  efficiency.  In  January,  1905 
there  were  85,290  paupers  in  the  almshouse,  of  whom  77,855 
were  white  and  7435  colored.  In  the  State  there  were  9942 
paupers  in  all  almshouses,- of  whom  9513  were  white  and  429 
were  colored.  In  Pennsylvania  there  were  twenty-two  white 
paupers  to  one  Negro  pauper.  If  pauperism  indicates  any 
tendency  toward  inefficiency,  then  inefficiency  is  certainly  not 
the  "Negro  Problem."  For  inefficiency  is  neither  common  to 
all  Negroes,  or  peculiar  to  them. 

The  ''Negro  Problem" — that  condition  which  is  peculiar 
to  Negroes,  and  common  to  them — is  rather  found  in  the  atti- 
tude of  the  white  race  toward  the  Negro ;  an  attitude  of  a  ma- 
jority which  seeks  to  shut  out  a  minority  from  the  enjoyment 
of  the  whole  social  and  economic  life.  It  is  an  attitude  which 
will  not  permit  a  Negro,  no  matter  how  efficient,  to  compete 
in  certain  lines  of  work,  for  example,  to  become  a  railway  en- 
gineer, or  a  public  high  school  teacher,  or  take  even  the  less 
highly  esteemed  position  of  motorman  or  street  car  conductor. 
It  is  this  attitude,  which  does  not  give  Negroes  a  fair  chance 
in  labor  unions  and  which  causes  Negroes  to  be  unwelcome  as 
members  in  some  Christian  churches.  A  Negro  girl  wins  high 
honors  in  our  High  School,  wins  a  scholarship  to  Cornell  Uni- 
versity, graduates  with  honors  and  returns  to  her  native  city, 
but  finds  the  doors  of  our  High  School  shut.  This  is  the  "Ne- 
gro Problem."  This  attitude  only  complicates  the  general  prob- 
lems of  crime,  of  ignorance,  of  poverty,  etc.,  among  Negroes, 
which  some  mistake  for  the  "Negro  Problem." 

Not  only  is  the  "Negro  Problem,"  not  a  problem  of  inef- 
ficiency but  quite  to  the  contrary,  the  conditions  which'  make 
the  problem  are  most  keenly  realized  by  the  efficient  Negroes 
of  the  community.     The  discriminations  against  Negroes  in- 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  187 

crease  with  increasing  intelligence,  benefit  and  efficiency,  on  the 
part  of  the  Negroes,  and  increased  competition.  In  the  eco- 
nomically and  intellectually  lowest  stratum — that  of  the  pauper 
and  criminal — there  is  but  little  race  problem.  The  white  pau- 
per and  criminal  and  the  Negro  pauper  and  criminal  are  found 
in  the  same  institutions  and  often  in  close  association.  In  the 
lowest  stratum  of  independent  occupation,  that  of  the  unskill- 
ed laborer,  Negroes  and  whites  are  frequently  found  working 
together.  In  the  higher  vocations  of  skilled  service,  they  are 
rarely  found  together,  notwithstanding  the  efficiency  of  the 
Negro. 

But  while  the  Negro  problem  is  not  a  problem  of  ineffici- 
ency, poverty  or  crime,  these  conditions  are  exaggerated  in  the 
Negro  race  because  of  the  exclusion  of  the  race  from  the  or- 
dinary competition  of  men;  and  there  therefore  arise  very 
serious  problems  of  labor.  Crime,  poverty  and  so  forth  which 
are  different  from  the  ordinary  problem  of  the  same  kind  in 
that  the  element  of  racial  antipathy  enters  to  complicate  them. 
The  most  serious  of  these  problems  is  that  of  industrial  im- 
provement. This  relates  both  to  the  opening  of  the  new  ave- 
nues of  labor,  and  the  improvement  in  those  already  opened. 
For  a  century,  indeed,  ever  since  the  Negro  became  a  free 
man,  there  has  been  complaint  about  his  low  efficiency.  This 
complaint  has  been  more  at  some  times  than  at  others.  A 
careful  study  of  the  circumstances  accompanying  more  or  less 
complaints  will  convince  one  that  the  complaints  as  to  the  Ne- 
groes' low  efficiency  are  contemporaneous  with  increased 
prejudice  against  the  race. 

The  Negroes'  industrial  standard  cannot  be  raised  from 
without,  but  must  be  from  within.  In  the  first  place  there 
must  be  an  open  competition.  The  community  must  insist 
that  all  men  have  a  fair  chance  in  order  that  the  best  man 
might  have  greatest  success  and  society  thus  secure  all  that  is 
its  dues.     At  present,  no  such  open  competition  exists.     Ne- 


188  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

groes  who  compete  only  with  themselves,  cannot  but  have  a  low 
standard.  This  was  well  illustrated  by  a  Negro  bricklayer, 
who  in  a  meeting  of  members  of  his  trade,  was  giving  reasons 
why  he  thought  that  colored  men  could  not  do  a  certain  piece 
of  work.  He  said  that  he  would  be  afraid  to  have  to  be  re- 
sponsible for  a  certain  number  of  first-class  bricklayers,  for  it 
would  be  hard  to  secure  them.  'Take  myself,  for  example/' 
he  said,  ''when  I  came  here  from  Virginia,  I  was  a  good  brick- 
layer. I  could  not  get  work  on  large- jobs  or  fine  ones,  I  mere- 
ly did  small  jobs  and  patchwork  for  people  who  could  not  pay 
for  a  good  job."  He  concluded,  "and  gentlemen,  I  have  de- 
generated, I  would  not  take  a  large  first-class  job  if  you  would 
give  it  to  me."  This  may  not  be  the  true  status  of  the  case  in 
all  of  its  bearings  but  it  is  true  with  regard  to  efficiency  in 
many  instances.  The  efficiency  of  the  Negro  cannot  be  raised 
unless  Negroes  are  permitted  to  enter  competition  on  their 
merits.  The  theory  of  Negroes  for  Negroes  only  means  low 
efficiency  always,  and  society  therefore  loses  in  the  end. 

Another  means  by  which  Negroes  will  raise  their  indus- 
trial efficiency  will  be  by  the  breaking  up  of  their  comparative 
solidarity  as  a  serving  class.  As  long  as  the  race  occupies 
menial  or  small  paying  positions,  there  is  but  little  incentive  to 
a  standard  of  high  efficiency;  for  all  of  them  will  be  on  the 
same  social  level  and  able  to  command  about  the  same  amount 
of  the  social  products.  So  long  as  the  Negroes  of  ability  are 
not  permitted  to  exercise  their  talents  merely  on  account  of 
their  color  or  race,  there  is  no  opportunity  for  the  superior 
ones  to  rise  above  the  inferior,  and  therefore,  no  inducement 
to  increased  effi.ciency.  There  must  be  both  social  and  eco- 
nomical rewards  for  efficiency,  if  high  efficiency  is  ever  to  be 
obtained.  And  a  community  has  but  little  right  to  complain 
of  the  low  efficiency  of  a  struggling  group  of  Negroes,  or 
others,  when  by  its  custom  and  its  public  opinion,  it  shuts  the 
door  to  high  efficiency  against  them. 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  189 

On  the  other  hand,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  by  the  Ne- 
gro group,  that  the  economic  opportunities  are  seldom  ever 
'•given"  by  one  group  to  another  as  a  gratuitous  favor.  The 
struggle  between  groups  is  such  that  even  in  a  country  pro- 
fessing to  be  a  democracy,  a  sharply  differentiated  minority 
group  is  generally  at  a  disadvantage,  both  politically  and  eco- 
nomically, as  for  example,  the  Jews  in  Russia,  the  Japanese 
in  California,  and  the  Negroes  in  the  Southern  United  States. 
And  that  group  is  able  to  rise  economically  to  the  extent  that 
its  rise  becomes  of  economic  advantage  to  the  larger  group. 
So  the  Negroes  of  this  State  have  a  large  part  to  play  in  in- 
creasing their  own  industrial  opportunities.  They  cannot  ex- 
pect those  opportunities  to  be  given  them  except  they  prepare 
and  strive  for  them  as  best  they  can.  They  can  expect  but  lit- 
tle from  the  larger  group  except  as  they  can  be  of  service  to 
them.  When  the  Negro  uses  superior  skill,  or  gives  the  same 
skill  for  a  smaller  return,  he  becomes  an  advantage  to  those 
who  engage  him  and  makes  an  opportunity.  This  is  already 
seen  in  domestic  service  and  unskilled  labor  where  Negroes 
are  most  generally  employed  because  they  give  as  good  ser- 
vice at  a  lower  rate  than  whites.  Still,  while  this  is  apparent- 
ly economic  law,  it  is  not  moral  law,  or  is  it  the  ideal  of  the  in- 
telligent, social  and  political  leader. 

The  problem  of  the  Negro  children  presents  several  seri- 
ous aspects.  In  the  first  place  it  has  been  pointed  out  that 
many  Negro  parents,  because  of  certain  industrial  conditions, 
which  make  it  necessary  for  both  of  them  to  be  absent  from 
their  homes  during  the  day,  cannot  give  the  attention  to  their 
children  which  they  should  give.  This  means  that  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  education  of  their  children  comes  from  the  streets  ; 
that  the  discipline  of  the  morning  and  early  afternoon  hours 
at  school  is  largely  counteracted  by  the  lack  of  discipline  in  the 
later  afternoon  and  early  evening.  In  the  second  place,  the 
training  given  in  most  of  the  schools  is  inadequate.    The  public 


190  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

school  course,  leads  as  a  rule,  to  a  commercial  life;  it  also 
points  to  the  ideal  of  brain  work  chiefly  and  manual  work  sec- 
ondarily. The  Negro  boy  or  girl  who  goes  through  the  eighth 
grade,  can  do  nothing  well.  Very  few  of  them  go  to  the  High 
School  because  by  that  time  they  find  that  they  are  circum- 
scribed by  race  prejudice  which  keeps  them  from  open  compe- 
tition, and  they  do  not  see  that  the  four  years'  course  in  the 
High  School  would  be  of  any  special  economic  benefit  to  them. 
It  is  a  well  known  fact  that  a  Negro  girl  finishing  the  eighth 
grade  at  present,  has  about  as  much  chance  economically,  as 
her  sister  from  the  High  School.  It  is  also  a  fact  that  the 
chief  opening  outside  of  teaching  for  the  educated  Negro  girl 
is  a  clerkship  in  a  Negro  business  establishment,  and  that  the 
vast  majority  of  these  pay  no  more  than  the  partially  edu- 
cated Negro  cooks  earn.  With  Negro  young  men  who  finish 
High  School  courses,  there  is  often  a  larger  amount  of  dis- 
couragement. The  reason  is,  that  the  Negro  boy  is  not  per- 
mitted to  enter  competition  for  clerical  or  other  positions  with 
bis  white  classmates,  though  they  be  no  better  intellectually  or 
economically  than  he  is.  He  is  not  even  half  prepared  for  any 
other  work  and  he  must  turn  to  domestic  service,  where  he  is 
often  held  up  by  the  Negroes  as  sufficient  proof  for  other  boys 
and  their  parents,  that  a  High  School  course  is  useless  for  Ne- 
groes. 

The  Negro  child  needs  much  of  inspiration  but  gets  but 
little.  The  average  Negro  parent  does  not  appreciate  the  eco- 
nomic value  of  higher  education  and  is  unwilling  to  make 
sacrifices  for  it.  Those  who  have  finished  the  ordinary  High 
School  course,  because  they  are  the  only  ones  in  their  immedi- 
ate group  who  have  done  so,  frequently  think  that  they  should 
have  greater  recognition  than  they  receive.  When  they  see 
their  white  schoolmates  going  into  positions  of  opportunity  and 
responsibility,  they  are  apt  to  become  discouraged  and  pessi- 
mistic.   They  have  not  been  led  to  understand  some  of  the  eco- 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  191 

nomic  reasons  why  a  father  who  himself  is  educated  and  who 
has  business  and  social  connections  can  possibly  give  his  boy  a 
start  in  life,  whereas  the  Negro  who  has  none  of  these,  must 
make  the  start  himself  from  the  bottom.  Therefore,  instead  of 
being  inspired  to  create,  the  Negro  too  often  becomes  discour- 
aged and  embittered.  Furthermore,  the  schools  give  the  Ne- 
gro children  very  little  which  is  calculated  to  make  them  con- 
tented with  being  physically  Negroes.  Unfortunately,  as  a 
noted  historian  wrote  to  a  Negro  teacher,  ''Historians  have  not 
searched  history  with  an  eye  to  the  deeds  of  Negroes."  Much 
that  the  Negro  child  learns  about  his  race  is  calculated  to  make 
him  ashamed  of  it.  He  knows  that  they  were  slaves  and  he 
thinks  they  were  the  only  race  that  had  been  enslaved.  In- 
stead of  trying  to  develop  what  he  has,  he  too  often  bewails  his 
fate. 

The  Negro  child  needs  to  be  taught  something  useful  in 
school.  At  present  the  most  useful  things  that  Negro  children 
are  taught,  are  to  be  had  in  reformatory  and  special  schools. 
The  need  of  the  Negro  boy  and  girl  to  know  some  particular 
thing  is  also  emphasized  by  the  present  low  economic  status  of 
the  race  in  the  State.  As  has  been  seen,  more  than  three-fifths 
of  the  Negro  males  are  engaged  in  domestic,  personal  and  un- 
skilled service,  in  which  they  earn  the  lowest  wages.  This  ne- 
cessitates the  working  of  women  in  order  to  make  up  the  fam- 
ily income.  On  this  account  four  times  as  large  a  percentage 
of  married  Negro  women  work  as  of  married  white  women  in 
Pennsylvania.  Ninety  per  cent,  of  these  women  are  in  domes- 
tic service.  The  Negroes  must  be  raised  out  of  this  condition. 
The  men  must  be  elevated  into  higher  grades  of  labor,  into 
trades,  into  business  and  so  forth.  This  can  only  be  done  by 
helping  the  Negro  boy  to  some  definite  training  which  leads 
to  some  useful  vocation. 

I  have  not  meant  the  above  as  a  basis  for  separate  schools 
in  Pennsylvania.    Such  would  be  an  unfortunate  retrogression. 


I 


192  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

The  law  of  1881,  which  made  it  illegal  to  discriminate  against 
Negroes  was  a  step  toward  democracy.  The  schools  ought  to 
be  the  training  places  for  democracy.  No  law  should  force  one 
normal  child  to  one  school,  and  another  to  another  either  be- 
cause of  race,  religion  or  politics.  Whatever  may  be  the  justi- 
fication for  separate  schools  in  other  parts  of  the  country,  there 
is  not  justification  here.  In  the  first  place,  separate  schools 
would  be  an  economic  burden,  and  the  minority  generally  suf- 
fer by  not  having  adequate  equipment.  In  the  second  place, 
separate  schools  generally  put  the  Negroes  at  a  disadvantage 
in  the  matter  of  school  supplies  and  equipment,  and  often  in- 
ferior teachers.  The  problem  of  the  colored  child  in  the 
schools,  is  not  a  problem  of  legal  separation.  According  to  the 
school  census  of  Philadelphia  in  1904,  there  were  Negro  chil- 
dren between  six  and  thirteen  years  in  every  ward  in  the  city 
except  the  Eleventh  and  Thirty-first.  But  there  were  only  four 
Negro  children  in  the  Sixth  Ward;  twelve  in  the  Sixteenth; 
fifteen  in  the  Seventeenth ;  three  in  the  Eighteenth ;  twenty  in 
the  Nineteenth,  and  so  on.  Considering  that  these  children 
may  live  miles  apart,  may  be  in  different  grades,  it  is  impracti- 
cable in  a  large  and  busy  city  like  Philadelphia  to  require  Ne- 
gro children  to  go  to  a  special  school.  In  the  next  place,  all 
Negro  children  are  not  all  alike  and  do  not  need  the  same  train- 
ing. It  has  been  shown  that  Negroes  are  developing  social  and 
economic  grades.  And,  although  this  discussion  is  for  the  aver- 
age child  and  for  those  below  it,  it  would  not  apply  to  all  Negrc 
children.  The  son  of  the  Negro  physician  who  has  both  eco- 
nomic opportunity  and  a  good  home  life,  does  not  need  all  that 
the  son  of  the  illiterate  Negro  laborer  needs.  The  daughter  of 
the  Negro  of  three  generations  of  culture  does  not  need  the 
same  as  the  daughter  of  the  recent  immigrant  from  a  Southern 
cotton  field.  The  boy  whose  father  has  succeeded  in  his  busi- 
ness and  who  will  send  his  boy  to  college  and  turn  over  to  his 
son  his  business,  does  not  need  the  exact  kind  of  training  as 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  193 

the  boy  whose  father  and  mother  together  do  not  earn  enoug-h 
to  keep  their  son  in  school  past  the  age  of  fourteen.  The  cases 
are  very  different,  and  although  they  all  happen  to  be  Negroes, 
they  are  not  the  same.  For  economic  reasons,  to  say  nothing 
of  constitutional  and  political  reasons,  there  is  no  necessity  to 
force  Negroes  into  separate  schools.  What  is  needed  is  the 
adaptation  of  the  schools  to  the  needs  of  the  community  which 
it  serves.  In  doing  this,  one  of  the  most  important  factors  is 
the  teacher.  Negro  children  suffer  largely  from  the  lack  of 
teachers,  who  are  both  competent  and  interested  in  them,  and 
who  can  point  them  to  opportunities  and  inspire  them.  This 
does  not  necessarily  mean  Negro  teachers ;  yet,  other  things 
being  equal,  a  Negro  teacher  is  to  be  preferred  as  the  instruc- 
tor of  a  Negro  child.  In  fact  this  seems  to  be  almost  a  neces- 
sity, if  the  Negro  child  is  to  be  guided  into  a  wholesome  re- 
spect for  himself  and  be  inspired  to  aspire.  But  teachers 
should  not  be  selected  merely  because  they  are  Negroes  and 
have  finished  a  normal  course,  or  at  the  expense  of  efficiency. 
They  should  be  experienced  persons  and  should  be  carefully 
selected  and  their  methods  and  results  should  be  closely  watch- 
ed. Moreover,  the  atmosphere  of  democracy  should  always  be 
around  them.  They  should  not  be  under  the  stigma  of  teach- 
ing in  ''Negro  schools,"  but  if  possible  they  should  be  made  to 
feel  as  we  make  our  ''special  school"  teachers  feel,  that  to  them 
is  committed  one  of  the  most  important  problems  of  our  edu- 
cational life,  and  that  success  in  this  field  will  bring  the  recog- 
nition it  deserves.  But  the  whole  matter  of  teachers  is  a  sub- 
ject for  school  administration,  and  not  legislation. 

The  Negro  has  been  the  object  of  philanthropy  in  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania  since  the  very  beginning.  And  although 
much  of  this  philanthropy  has  been  of  the  most  beneficial  sort, 
and  contributed  helpfully  toward  the  advancement  of  the  Ne- 
groes of  the  State,  much  of  it  has  been  of  positive  harm. 
When  it  comes  to  philanthropy  as  expressed  in  schools,  in  re- 
13 


194  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

ligious  instruction,  in  pleading  for  the  freedom  of  the  slave, 
Pennsylvania  is  possibly  the  foremost  State  of  the  Union.  But 
as  relates  to  the  economic  side  of  Negro  life,  which  is  most 
fundamental,  Pennsylvania  has  not  always  done  the  best  by  the 
Negro. 

In  the  colonial  days,  the  slave  system  by  its  very  nature 
encouraged  laziness,  as  Benjamin  Franklin  was  quick  to  note. 
When  a  Negro  had  served  his  probation  of  slavery  and  was 
given  his  freedom,  Pennsylvania  instead  of  putting  him  on  his 
merit  and  compelling  him  to  compete  for  his  living,  followed 
the  example  of  other  colonies  in  making  the  master  who  manu- 
mitted the  Negro,  forever  responsible  for  him.  This  was,  of 
course,  not  calculated  to  raise  the  economic  standard  or  self- 
conhdence  of  the  Negro.  In  fact,  it  is  doubtful,  whether  the 
purpose  was  primarily  to  help  the  Negro,  or  to  relieve  the  Gov- 
ernment. But  possibly  the  greatest  instance  of  misplaced  phil- 
anthropy was  that  of  the  American  Colonization  Society,  to 
which  reference  has  been  made  in  a  previous  chapter.  This 
could  hardly  be  called  philanthropy  as  far  as  the  Pennsylvania 
Negroes  are  concerned. 

There  are  to-day,  many  philanthropies  for  Negroes  in 
the  State;  but  there  are  few  which  aim  at  creating  an  atmos- 
phere of  democracy  for  Negroes.  There  are  practically  none 
which  aim  at  the  Negroes'  real  economic  problem — the  man's 
chance  among  men.  The  greatest  thing  which  the  Negroes 
need  to-day  is  to  be  allowed  to  enter  as  a  full-fledged  competi- 
tor, to  insist  that  they  be  men,  citizens,  with  the  duties  and  re- 
sponsibilities of  the  same.  But  many  philanthropists  proceed 
on  the  theory  of  an  antiquated  ethnology  that  the  Negro  is  dis- 
tinctly different  from  the  white  man  and  must  not  be  treated  as 
such. 

''Social  equality"  is  a  bugbear  which  has  deprived  the  Ne- 
groes of  many  economic  opportunities.  Within  ten  years,  pub- 
lic opinion  has  changed  greatly.     Negroes  are  denied,  in  viola- 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  195 

tion  of  the  law,  many  of  the  common  comforts,  and  public 
opinion  has  remained  silent,  largely  because  the  white  public 
does  not  believe  in  "social  equality."  But  it  is  not  social  equal- 
ity which  Negroes  seek;  it  is  economic  opportunity.  Dr.  Selig- 
man,  of  Columbia  University,  in  his  treatise  on  the  "Principles 
of  Economics,"  says:  "The  real  equality  which  is  important 
for  economic  purposes,  is  threefold;  first,  legal  equality,  or 
the  certainty  that  one  man  is  as  good  as  another  before  the  law 
and  that  his  economic  rights  will  be  equally  protected ;  second- 
ly, equality  of  opportunity,  in  the  sense  that  no  man  is  shut 
out  by  legislation  or  social  prejudice  from  free  access  to  any 
vocation  or  employment  for  which  he  deems  himself  fitted; 
thirdly,  such  a  relative  equality  at  least  in  the  conditions  of 
bargaining,  as  not  to  put  one  party  to  a  contract  at  the  virtual 
mercy  of  the  other.  Without  such  a  threefold  equality,  free- 
dom becomes  illusory." 

Illustrating  the  economic  disadvantage  of  certain  preju- 
dices and  local  discriminations,  a  young  Philadelphia  Negra 
business  man  relates  the  following  experiences:  "I  was  in  a 
Southern  State  on  a  business  trip,  but  had  planned  to  return  to 
Philadelphia  on  a  certain  day.  A  few  days  before  I  returned,  I 
wrote  making  three  engagements.  I  looked  at  the  schedule 
and  found  the  train  would  arrive  in  Philadelphia  about  lo  A. 
M.,  so  I  set  my  first  engagement  for  12  o'clock  noon ;  my  other 
two  for  2  and  4  o'clock  respectively.  All  engagements  were 
important  and  that  at  2  o'clock  could  not  be  deferred.  All  en- 
gagements were  with  white  men  on  whom  for  purely  business 
reasons,  I  was  anxious  to  make  a  good  impression.  The  noon 
engagement  was  with  a  man  with  very  wide  and  influential 
business  connections.  I  purchased  a  ticket  from  a  small  town 
to  Atlanta,  Ga.,  thence  I  expected  to  secure  a  ticket  to  Phila- 
delphia. I  had  two  changes  to  make,  one  at  Atlanta  and  one 
at  Washington,  D.  C.  I  left  the  small  town  in  which  I  was, 
early  in  the  morning,  reaching  Atlanta  before  ten  o'clock,  ex- 


I 


196  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 


pecting  to  leave  on  the  12  o'clock  train.  When  I  went  to  the 
ticket  office  in  Atlanta  to  get  a  ticket  for  Philadelphia  I  was 
told  that  I  could  not  ride  on  the  train  leaving  Atlanta  at  noon, 
because  it  carried  only  Pullman  coaches  and  that  it  was  illegal 
for  a  Negro  to  ride  in  Pullman  coaches  in  the  State  of  Geor- 
gia. I  explained  and  pleaded  with  the  ticket  agent  but  to  no 
avail.  He  became  angry  and  ordered  me  away  under  threat 
of  arrest.  *  You'll  have  to  go  on  the  2.15  (a  slow  train),  or  not 
at  all,'  he  said  and  that  was  final.  I  took  the  2.15  train,  the 
only  one  a  Negro  could  take  and  got  to  Philadelphia  too  late 
for  any  one  of  my  three  engagements.  Now,  what  was  I  to 
do?  I  do  not  care  especially  to  sleep  or  ride  with  white  peo- 
ple. All  I  want  is  a  chance  to  compete  for  business.  I  lost 
these  opportunities,  not  because  of  inefficiency  but  because  of 
prejudice.  Yet,  I  am  told  that  I  must  not  complain.  Still,  if 
the  white  man  excels  me,  I  am  told  that  I  am  inefficient.  'That 
is  my  dilemma.'  "  Another  incident  is  told  by  a  young  Negro, 
thus : 

"I  was  called  across  the  river  from  Philadelphia  to  Cam- 
den on  business  one  day  about  11  o'clock.  After  I  had  attend- 
ed to  my  business  I  returned  to  Philadelphia  by  the  Market 
Street  Ferry.  It  was  then  i  o'clock,  and  living  about  two 
miles  away,  I  foimd  I  could  not  go  home  to  lunch  as  my  usual 
custom  was.  I  decided,  therefore,  to  stop  at  the  first  restaurant 
in  my  route.  I  saw  one  just  opposite  the  ferry  which  I  en- 
tered. I  remained  there  ten  or  fifteen  minutes;  men  on  every 
side  of  me  were  served,  but  I  was  unnoticed.  I  appealed  to 
the  head  waiter,  who  became  so  violent  in  his  expressions 
against  me  that  several  of  the  men  who  were  eating  protested. 
After  their  protests  he  consented  to  serve  me.  I  ordered  roast 
beef.  When  the  waiter  who  brought  it  to  me  received  it, 
plainly  within  my  sight,  he  poured  cold  water  over  the  beef 
and  gave  me  a  glass  of  dish  water  to  drink.  When  I  protested, 
a  policeman  was  called,  I  was  threatened  with  arrest.     I,  of 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  197 

course,  was  excited  and  before  I  knew  it,  it  was  half  past  one, 
I  hurried  to  my  engagement  hungry  and  excited  and,  I  con- 
fess, angry.  I  got  there  late  but  not  too  late  to  talk  business. 
The  transaction  involved  about  $300  cash  and  a  large  oppor- 
tunity for  further  business,  but  I  lost  it.  I  attribute  that  fact 
almost  entirely  to  my  physical  and  mental  condition  at  the  time, 
I  did  not  want  to  eat  with  white  men,  I  only  wanted  to  refresh 
myself  so  as  to  bring  my  best  physical  self  to  my  business." 

These  incidents  are  but  examples  of  hundreds  that  have 
been  brought  to  the  writer's  notice.  They  lead  one  to  ask, 
*'How  can  the  community  ask  the  Negro  to  compete  when  it 
will  not  let  him  eat  or  sleep  ?"  It  is  not  social  equality  but  it  is- 
economic  privilege.  A  public  restaurant  ought  not  to  discrimi- 
nate against  Negroes  because  such  discriminations  add  to  in- 
efficiency. How  can  a  hungry  Negro  compete  with  a  well-fed 
white  man  in  the  downtown  district?  How  can  a  half  angry 
Negro,  threatened  with  unjust  arrest,  because  he  wants  to  eat 
a  meal  in  a  decent  place,  compete  with  the  man  who  has  all  his 
powers  in  complete  composure?  Shall  we  ask  the  Negro  ta 
spend  ten  cents  and  an  hour  and  a  half  to  go  home  and  get  his 
lunch,  or  to  ride  to  a  restaurant  in  the  Negro  district?  If  so, 
how  can  he  compete  with  the  white  man  who  saves  that  time 
and  money  each  day  ?  Yet  this  is  only  a  part  of  what  the  com- 
munity does  and  still  it  complains  of  Negro  inefficiency.  There 
is  another  phase  of  the  matter  which  the  community  ought  to 
understand  better.  The  Negroes  who  complain  against  this 
treatment  are  generally  the  best  and  most  ambitious  Negroes. 
They  do  not  want  favors  and  they  despise  conventional  char- 
ity. Many  whites  because  they  have  heard  so  much  talk  about 
"social  equality"  and  do  not  understand  these  Negroes'  eco- 
nomic strivings,  think  that  the  well-to-do  Negroes  desire  to  eat 
and  drink  with  them  and  their  kind  without  an  invitation.  This 
is  far  from  being  the  case.  The  complaint  which  comes  from 
Negroes  is  almost  entirely  for  economic  reasons  and  has  but 


198  The  Negt'o  In  Pennsylvania 

little  to  do  with  the  purely  social.  It  is  not  heard  by  the  masses 
of  Negroes,  merely  because  the  masses  are  not  in  as  keen  com- 
petition as  the  so-called  upper  classes.  The  more  intelligent 
Negro  wants  the  best  and  cleanest  place  he  can  get,  for  it  helps 
him  to  compete  in  his  business.  He  wants  to  get  to  his  ap- 
pointments as  quickly  and  in  as  good  condition  as  the  white 
man.  That  is  why  he  complains  when  he  is  discriminated 
against  in  a  hotel,  a  sleeping  car  or  other  public  convenience. 

That  Negroes  are  not  desiring  "social  equality"  may  be 
seen  by  the  fact  that  Negroes  rarely  invite  whites  to  their 
tables.  Indeed,  it  is  probable  that  Negroes  are  invited  more 
often  than  they  invite,  and  they  only  invite  their  friends. 
When  some  very  white  Negroes  "pass  for  white"  they  are  irn- 
mediately  ostracised  by  the  Negroes.  But  the  most  convinc- 
ing argument  against  the  Negroes  being  especially  anxious  for 
"social  equality"  with  whites,  in  the  sense  of  association  with 
whites  on  terms  of  intimacy,  is  seen  in  the  small  proportion  of 
mixed  marriages  and  race  mixture  occurring  in  the  State.  Al- 
though the  law  against  mixed  marriages  was  repealed  over  one 
hundred  and  thirty-five  years  ago,  there  is  less  mixing  to-day 
in  the  free  State  of  Pennsylvania  than  in  the  State  of  Mississ- 
ippi, where  Negroes  and  whites  are  not  permitted  to  marry. 

Social  classes  am^ong  Negroes  are  a  conspicuous  develop- 
ment. Notwithstanding  the  general  complaint  among  native- 
born  Negroes  concerning  the  immigration  of  Southern  Ne- 
groes, it  is  this  very  immigration  of  large  numbers  of  Negroes 
to  the  cities  that  has  been  the  basis  upon  which  social  classes 
among  Negroes  are  gradually  being  formed.  Were  it  not  for 
these  Negroes,  the  Negro  professional  group,  which  is  forcing 
its  way  upward  to  both  social  position  and  comparative  wealth, 
could  never  have  been  developed;  the  Negro  business  man 
would  have  had  no  field ;  and  the  great  mass  of  intelligent  Ne- 
groes, with  a  few  exceptions,  would  have  been  domestic  ser- 
vants, as  the  Negroes  of  the  North  have  generally  been.     Im- 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  199 

migration  of  Negroes  is  beginning  to  do  for  the  development 
of  Negroes  what  the  immigration  of  foreigners  did  for  the 
Germans,  Irish,  ItaHans  and  others.  The  older  groups,  with 
more  experience,  more  money  and  more  education,  are  rising 
upon  the  newer  ones. 

As  long  as  there  are  very  few  Negroes  in  a  community, 
there  is  generally  but  little  prejudice  and  the  Negroes  enjoy  a 
reasonable  degree  of  security.  But  at  the  same  time,  only  a 
few  of  them  rise  above  the  position  of  a  menial.  They  may  be 
respected  by  the  community,  but  they  are  respected  as  good 
servants.  Now  and  then,  some  exceptionally  bright  Negro  or 
the  protege  of  som.e  philanthropic  person  is  allowed  to  rise, 
but  this  is  very  seldom.  When,  however,  heavy  Southern  Ne- 
gro immigration  sets  in,  the  conditions  of  security  and  tran- 
quility are  often  upset;  the  old  inhabitants,  both  black  and 
white,  complain  of  the  ''incoming  Negroes  from  the  South" 
and  the  evils  they  have  brought,  and  they  deplore  the  changed 
conditions.  Yet  it  is  upon  these  incoming  Negroes  and  these 
alone,  that  the  Negroes  begin  to  rise  and  to  diversify  their  oc- 
cupations. They  increase  the  competition  among  the  Negroes 
themselves  and  among  whites  and  they  therefore,  raise  them- 
selves in  efficiency.  And  although  they  increase  prejudice  on 
the  part  of  their  competitors,  they  lay  a  foundation  on  which 
other  Negroes  can  rise  in  business  and  professions. 

The  two  hundred  thousand  Negroes  in  the  State  make  it 
possible  for  the  Negroes  to  dififerentiate  into  classes  based  on 
wealth,  culture  and  character.  The  dififerentiation  of  the  Ne- 
gro group  will  be  slower  than  that  of  the  immigrant  white 
group,  since  the  Negro's  field  of  operation,  because  of  public 
opinion,  is  limited.  Public  sentiment  requires  Negroes  to  work 
among  their  own,  as  it  does  not  require  the  Irishman  or  ItaHan. 
If  one  of  the  latter  succeeds  he  is  looked  upon  as  a  citizen 
and  not  as  an  Irishman.  But  it  is  not  so  with  the  Negro.  If  a 
Negro  girl  graduates  with  honors  in  our  High  School,  wins 


200  The  Negro  In  Pennsylvania 

thereby  a  scholarship  to  a  leading  university,  and  graduates 
there  with  honor,  she  cannot  come  back  to  her  native  city  and 
teach  in  her  Alma  Mater,  as  white  girls  who  stood  lower  than 
she  have  done.  She  must  be  content  to  teach  in  the  graded 
schools  or  go  South  to  teach.  If  a  bright  young  Negro  wins  a 
Cecil  Rhodes'  Scholarship,  and  represents  his  State  at  Oxford, 
England,  his  best  friends  are  at  a  loss  to  find  for  him  an  op- 
portunity in  his  native  city  and  State,  whereas  there  are  large 
opportunities  for  white  boys  with  such  scholastic  honors,  in 
the  service  of  the  State  in  which  they  have  striven  and  shown 
their  superiority. 

Crime  among  Negroes,  to-day  in  proportion  to  fifty 
years  ago,  has  decreased.  That  is,  it  has  not  increased  as 
rapidly  as  the  Negro  population  in  the  State.  All  the  evidence 
at  hand,  however,  although  meager  and  hard  to  interpret,  tends 
to  show  that  the  Negroes  still  commit  twice  as  many  crimes  as 
whites  do.  But  this  is  better  than  it  was  a  half  century  ago. 
There  are  not  facts  to  show  that  Negroes  are  naturally  more 
criminal  than  whites.  But  facts  do  seem  to  show  that  there  is 
close  connection  between  the  crimes  of  Negroes  and  the  lack 
of  economic  opportunity.  Negro  criminals  are  rarely  efficient 
or  regular  Vv'orkers.  It  is  only  by  giving  Negroes  the  equal  op- 
portunity in  all  lines  of  industry  that  the  crimes  of  Negroes 
will  be  diminished.  Work,  regular  work,  and  the  incentive 
which  the  hope  of  promotion  inspires,  will  do  for  the  decrease 
of  crime  what  preaching,  lecturing,  and  abusing  and  even  pun- 
ishment have  not  yet  accomplished. 

The  aim  of  our  nation  is  the  common  weal ;  is  equal  op- 
portunity as  far  as  possible.  Race,  nationality  or  religion 
should  not  interfere  with  American  economic  progress.  The 
greatest  need  of  the  Negro  is  economic  freedom,  economic  jus- 
tice. This  is  all  the  best  Negroes  of  this  State  ask.  And  it  is 
indeed  a  high  platform  upon  which  to  stand.  It  is  not  a  bid 
for  charity;  it  is  not  a  bid  for  hostility.     It  is  only  to  be  per- 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  201 

mitted  to  enter  American  rivalry,  to  go  down  if  incompetent, 
to  die  out  if  weak,  to  go  up  if  capable.  It  is  the  request  that 
the  same  rules  by  which  whites,  with  all  their  generations  of 
culture,  are  judged,  be  the  rules  appHed  to  the  Negro.  It  is  for 
an  opportunity  to  be  a  part  of  an  industrial  democracy  that 
Negroes  plead;  an  opportunity  to  make  the  best  living  possi- 
ble. To  give  them  this  is  most  difficult  indeed ;  it  requires  the 
most  profound  economic  foresight  and  the  highest  religious 
devotion.  It  is  the  common  ground  of  political  economy  and 
the  teaching  of  Jesus.  For  indeed,  it  is  easier  to  "give  one's 
body  to  be  burned ;"  to  give  alms  to  the  poor,  to  speak  wisdom 
and  write  learnedly,  than  to  give  simple  Pauline  charity,  which 
is  an  attitude  of  mind  and  not  particularly  a  material  gift. 
What  the  Negroes  want  most  and  need  most,  and  what  ulti- 
mately is  best  for  our  State  and  nation,  is  economic  charity, 
i.  e.,  economic  justice,  a  state  of  public  opinion  that  will  give 
a  fair  field  to  struggHng  individuals  identified  with  a  submerg- 
ed minority. 

Certainly,  Pennsylvania  which  could  pass  the  Abolition 
Act,  establish  the  Abolition  Society,  the  Anti-Slavery  Society, 
various  associations  for  the  promotion  of  religion  and  reform, 
the  foremost  of  philanthropic  States  of  the  Union,  so  far  as 
the  Negro  is  concerned,  can  give  the  Negro  that  simplest  of 
all  things,  the  right  to  earn  his  bread,  and  as  much  of  it  as  he 
is  capable  of  earning  for  the  support  of  his  family  and  to  main- 
tain a  respectable  place  in  the  community ;  and  will  not  deny 
him  what  Professor  Seligman  says  is  absolutely  necessary  foe 
the  best  economic  development  of  the  State  itself — that  "equal- 
ity of  opportunity  in  the  sense  that  no  man  is  shut  out  by  leg- 
islation or  social  prejudice  from  free  access  to  any  vocation  or 
employment  for  which  he  deems  himself  fitted." 


Appendix 


LAWS  OF  PENNA.,  1810,  CH.  870,  P,  492-497. 
-AN  ACT  FOR  THE  GRADUAL  ABOLITION  OF  SLAV- 
ERY," passed  March  i,  1780: 

'"When  we  contemplate  our  abhorence  of  that  condition,  to  which 
the  arms  and  tyranny  of  Great  Britain  were  exerted  to  reduce  us, 
when  we  look  back  on  the  variety  of  dangers  to  which  we  have  been 
exposed,  and  how  miraculously  our  wants  in  many  instances  have 
been  supplied,  when  even  hope  and  human  fortitude  have  become  un- 
equal to  the  conflict  we  are  unavoidably  led  to  a  serious  and  grateful 
sense  of  the  manifold  blessings,  which  we  have  undeservedly  received 
from  the  hand  of  that  Being,  from  whom  every  good  and  perfect 
gift  Cometh.  Impressed  with  these  ideas,  we  conceive  that  it  is  our 
duty  and  we  rejoice  that  it  is  in  our  power  to  extend  a  portion  of 
that  freedom  to  others,  which  hath  been  extended  to  us,  and  release 
from  that  state  of  thraldom,  to  v/hich  we  ourselves  were  tyrannically 
doomed,  and  from  which  we  have  now  every  prospect  of  being  de- 
livered. It  is  not  for  us  to  inquire  why,  in  the  creation  of  man- 
kind, the  inhabitants  of  the  several  parts  of  the  earth  were  distin- 
guished by  a  difference  in  feature  or  complexion.  It  is  sufficient  to 
know,  that  all  are  the  work  of  an  Almighty  hand.  We  find,  in  the 
distribution  of  the  human  species,  that  the  most  fertile  as  well  as  the 
most  barren  parts  of  the  earth  are  inhabited  by  men  of  complexions 
different  from  ours,  and  from  each  other;  from  whence  we  may  rea- 
sonably, as  well  as  religiously,  infer,  that  He  who  placed  them  in 
their  various  situations,  hath  extended  equally  His  care  and  pro- 
tection to  all,  and  that  it  becometh  not  us  to  counteract  His  mer- 
cies. We  esteem  it  a  peculiar  blessing  granted  to  us,  that  we  are  en- 
abled this  day  to  add  one  more  step  to  universal  civilization,  by  re- 
moving, as  much  as  possible,  the  sorrows  of  those  who  have  lived  in 
undeserved  bondage,  and  from  which,  by  the  assumed  authority  of 
the  Kings  of  Great  Britain,  no  effectual,  legal  relief  could  be  obtained. 
Wearied,  by  a  long  course  of  experience,  from  those  narrow  prejudices 
and  partialities  we  had  imibibed,  we  find  our  hearts  enlarged  with 
kindness  and  benevolence  towards  men  of  all  conditions  and  nations; 
and  we  conceive  ourselves  at  this  particular  period  extraordinarily 
called  upon,  by  the  blessings  which  we  have  received,  to  manifest  the 
sincerity  of  our  profession,  and  to  give  a  substantial  proof  of  our 
gratitude. 

203 


I 


204  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 


II.  And  whereas  the  condition  of  those  persons,  who  have  here- 
tofore been  denominated  Negro  and  Mulatto  slaves,  has  been  at- 
tended with  circumstances,  which  not  only  deprived  them  of  the  com- 
mon blessings  that  they  were  by  nature  entitled  to,  but  has  cast 
them  into  the  deepest  affliction,  by  an  unnatural  separation  and  sale 
of  husband  and  wife  from  each  other  and  from  their  children,  an  in- 
jury, the  greatness  of  which  can  only  be  conceived  by  supposing  that 
we  were  in  the  same  unhappy  case.  In  justice,  therefore,  to  persons 
so  unhappily  circumstanced,  and  who,  having  no  prospect  before  them 
whereon  they  may  rest  their  sorrows  and  their  hopes,  who  have  no 
reasonable  inducement  to  render  their  service  to  society,  which  they 
otherwise  might,  and  also  in  grateful  commemoration  of  our  own 
happy  deliverance  from  that  state  of  unconditional  submission,  to 
which  we  v/ere  doomed  by  the  tyranny  of  Britain. 

III.  Be  it  enacted,  and  it  is  hereby  enacted.  That  all  persons  as 
well  Negroes  and  Mulattoes  as  others,  who  shall  be  born  within  this 
State  from  and  after  the  passing  of  this  act,  shall  not  be  deemed  and 
considered  as  servants  for  life,  or  slaves;  and  that  all  servitude  for  life, 
or  slavery  of  children,  in  consequence  of  the  slavery  of  their  mothers, 
in  the  case  of  all  children  born  within  this  State  from  and  after  the 
passing  of  this  act  as  aforesaid,  shall  be  and  hereby  is,  utterly  taken 
away,  extinguished,  and  forever  abolished. 

IV.  Provided  always,  and  be  it  further  enacted.  That  every  Ne- 
gro and  Mulatto  child,  born  within  this  State  after  the  passing  of  the 
act  as  aforesaid  (who  would,  in  case  this  act  had  not  been  made, 
have  been  born  a  servant  for  years,  or  life,  or  a  slave)  shall  be 
deemed,  and  shall  be,  by  virtue  of  this  act,  the  servant  of  such  per- 
son, or  his  or  her  assigns,  who  would  in  such  case  have  been  enti- 
tled to  the  service  of  such  child,  until  such  child  shall  attain  unto  the 
age  of  twenty-eight  years,  in  the  manner,  and  on  the  conditions, 
whereon  servants  bound  by  indenture  for  four  years  are  or  may  be 
retained  by  his  or  her  master  or  mistress,  and  to  like  freedom  dues 
and  other  privileges,  as  servants  bound  by  indenture  for  four  years 
are  or  may  be  entitled,  unless  the  person,  to  whom  the  service  of 
any  such  child  shall  belong,  shall  abandon  his  or  her  claims  to  the 
same ;  in  which  case  the  Overseers  of  the  poor  of  the  city,  township 
or  district,  respectively,  where  such  child  shall  be  so  abandoned,  as 
an  apprentice,  for  a  time  not  exceeding  the  age  herein  before  limited 
for  the  service  of  such  children. 

V.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  every  person,  who  is  or  shall 
be  the  owner  of  any  Negro  or  Mulatto  slave  or  servant  for  life  or  till 
the  age  of  thirty-one  years,  now  within  this  State,  or  his  lawful  attor- 
ney, shall,  on  or  before  the  said  first  day  of  November  next,  deliver 
or  cause  to  be  delivered,  in  writing,  to  the  Clerk  of  the  Peace  of  the 
county,  or  to  the  Clerk  of  the  Court  of  Record  in  the  City  of  Phila- 
delphia, in  which  he  or  she  shall  respectively  inhabit,  the  name  and 
surname,  and  occupation  or  profession  of  such  owner,  and  the  name 
of   the    county   and  township,   district   or   ward,   wherein   he   or  she 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  205 


resideth;  and  also  the  name  and  names  of  any  such  slave  and  slaves, 
and  servant  and  servants  for  life,  or  till  the  age  of  thirty-one  years, 
together  with  their  ages  and  sexes  severally  and  respectively  set 
forth  and  annexed,  by  such  person  owned  or  statedly  employed,  and 
then  being  within  this  State,  in  order  to  ascertain  and  distinguish 
the  slaves  and  servants  for  life,  and  till  the  age  of  thirty-one  years, 
within  this  State,  who  shall  be  such  on  the  said  first  day  of  Novem- 
ber next,  from  all  other  persons;  which  particulars  shall,  by  said  Clerk 
of  the  Sessions  and  Clerk  of  the  said  City  Court,  be  entered  in  books 
to  be  provided  for  that  purpose  by  the  said  Clerks,  and  that  no 
Negro  or  Mulatto,  now  within  this  State,  shall,  from  and  after  the  said 
first  day  of  November,  be  deemed  a  slave  or  servant  for  life,  or  till 
the  age  of  thirty-one  years,  unless  his  or  her  name  shall  be  en- 
tered as  aforesaid  on  such  record,  except  such  Negro  and  Mulatto 
slaves  and  servants  as  are  hereinafter  excepted;  the  said  Clerk  to  be 
entitled  to  a  fee  of  two  dollars  for  each  slave  or  servant  so  entered  as 
aforesaid,  from  the  Treasury  of  the  county,  to  be  allowed  to  him  in 
his  accounts. 

VI.  Provided  always.  That  any  person,  in  whom  the  ownership 
or  rights  to  the  service  of  any  Negro  or  Mulatto  shall  be  vested  at 
the  passing  of  this  act,  other  than  such  as  are  herein  before  excepted, 
his  or  her  heirs,  executors,  administrators  and  assigns,  and  all  and 
every  one  of  them,  severally,  shall  be  liable  to  the  Overseers  of  the 
Poor  of  the  city,  township  or  district,  to  which  any  such  Negro  or 
Mulatto  shall  become  chargeable,  for  such  necessary  expense,  with 
costs  of  suit  thereon,  as  such  Overseers  may  be  put  to,  through  the 
neglect  of  the  owner,  master  or  mistress  of  such  Negro  or  Mulatto, 
notwithstanding  the  name  and  other  descriptions  of  such  Negro  or 
Mulatto  shall  not  be  entered  and  recorded  as  aforesaid,  unless  his  or 
her  master  or  owner  shall,  before  such  slave  or  servant  attain  his  or 
her  twenty-eighth  year,  execute  and  record  in  the  proper  county  a 
deed  or  instrument,  securing  to  such  slave  or  servant  his  or  her  free- 
dom. 

VII.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  ofTenses  and  crimes  ot 
Negroes  and  Mulattoes,  as  well  as  slaves  and  servants  as  freemen, 
shall  be  inquired  of,  adjudged,  corrected  and  punished,  in  like  man- 
ner as  the  offenses  and  crimes  of  the  other  inhabitants  of  this  State, 
are  and  shall  be  inquired  of,  adjudged,  corrected  and  punished,  and 
not  otherwise,  except  that  a  slave  shall  not  be  admitted  to  bear  wit- 
ness against  a  freeman. 

VIII.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  in  all  cases,  wherein  sen- 
tence of  death  shall  be  pronounced  against  a  slave,  the  jury,  before 
whom  he  or  she  shall  be  tried,  shall  appraise  and  declare  the  value 
of  such  slave;  and  in  case  such  sentence  be  executed,  the  Court  shall 
make  an  order  on  the  State  Treasurer,  payable  to  the  owner,  for  the 
same,  and  for  the  costs  of  prosecution,  but  in  case  of  remission  or 
migration,  for  the  costs  only. 


206  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 


IX.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  reward  for  taking  up 
runaway  and  absconding  Negro  and  Mulatto  slaves  and  servants,  and 
the  penalties  for  enticing  away,  dealing  with  or  harboring,  concealing 
or  employing  Negro  and  Mulatto  slaves  and  servants,  shall  be  the 
same,  and  shall  be  recovered  in  like  manner,  as  in  case  of  servants 
bound  for  four  years. 

X.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  no  man  or  woman  of  any 
nation  or  color,  except  the  Negroes  and  Mulattoes  who  shall  be 
registered  as  aforesaid,  shall  at  any  time  hereafter  be  deemed,  ad- 
judged or  holden,  within  the  territories  of  this  Commonwealth,  as 
slaves  or  servants  for  life,  but  as  free  men  and  free  women;  except 
the  domestic  slaves  attending  upon  Delegates  in  Congress  from  the 
other  American  States,  foreign  Ministers  and  Consuls,  and  persons 
passing  through  or  sojourning  in  this  State,  and  not  becoming  resi- 
dent therein,  and  seamen  employed  in  ships  not  belonging  to  any  in- 
habitant of  this  State,  nor  employed  in  any  ship  owned  by  any  such 
inhabitant;  provided  such  domestic  slaves  be  not  alienated  or  sold 
to  any  inhabitant,  nor  (except  in  the  case  of  Members  of  Congress, 
Foreign  Ministers  and  Consuls)  retained  in  this  State  longer  than 
six  months. 

XL  Provided  always,  and  be  it  further  enacted.  That  this  act, 
or  anything  in  it  contained,  shall  not  give  any  relief  or  shelter  to  any 
absconding  or  runaway  Negro  or  Mulatto  slave  or  servant,  who  has 
absented  himself,  or  shall  absent  himself,  from  his  or  her  owner, 
master  or  mistress,  residing  in  any  other  State  or  county,  but  such 
owner,  master  or  mistress  shall  have  like  right  to  aid,  to  demand, 
claim  and  take  away  his  slave  or  servant,  as  he  might  have  had  in 
case  this  act  had  not  been  made;  and  that  all  Negro  and  Mulatto 
Slaves  nov,?  owned  and  heretofore  resident  in  this  State,  who  have 
absented  themselves,  or  been  clandestinely  carried  away,  or  who  may 
be  employed  abroad  as  seamen,  and  have  not  returned  or  been 
brought  back  to  their  owners,  masters  or  mistresses,  before  the  pass- 
ing of  this  act,  may,  within  five  years,  be  registered,  as  effectually  as 
is  ordered  by  this  act  concerning  those  who  are  now  within  the  State, 
on  prctducing  such  slave  before  any  two  Justices  of  the  Peace,  and 
satisfying  the  said  Justices,  by  proof  of  the  former  residence,  abscond- 
ing, taking  away,  or  absence  of  such  slaves,  as  aforesaid,  who  there- 
upon shall  direct  and  order  the  said  slave  to  be  entered  on  the  record 
as  aforesaid. 

XII.  And  whereas  attempts  may  be  made  to  evade  this  act,  by 
introducing  into  this  State  Negroes  and  Mulattoes  bound  by  cove- 
nant to  serve  for  long  and  unreasonable  terms  of  years,  if  the  same 
be  not  prevented. 

XIII.  Be  it  therefore  enacted.  That  no  covenant  of  personal 
servitude  or  apprenticeship  whatsoever  shall  be  rated  or  binding  upon 
a  Negro  or  Mulatto  for  a  longer  time  than  seven  years,  unless  such 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  207 


servant  or  apprentice  were,  at  the  commencement  of  such  servitude 
or  apprenticeship,  under  the  age  of  twenty-one  years;  in  which  case 
such  Negro  or  Mulatto  may  be  holden  as  a  servant  or  apprentice,  re- 
spectively, according  to  the  covenant  as  the  case  shall  be,  until  he 
or  she  shall  attain  the  age  of  twenty-eight  years,  but  no  longer. 

XIV.  And  be  it  further  enacted.  That  an  act  of  Assembly  of  the 
Province  of  Pennsylvania,  passed  in  the  year  one  thousand  seven  hun- 
dred five,  entitled,  "An  Act  for  the  Trial  of  Negroes;"  and  another 
act  of  the  Assembly  of  the  said  Province,  passed  in  the  year  one  thou- 
sand seven  hundred  twenty-five,  entitled,  "An  Act  for  the  Better 
Regulating  of  Negroes  in  this  Province;"  and  another  act  of  Assem- 
bly of  the  said  Province,  passed  in  the  year  one  thousand  seven  hun- 
dred sixty-one,  entitled,  "An  Act  for  Laying  a  Duty  on  Negro  and 
Mulatto  Slaves  Imported  into  This  Province;"  and  also  another  act 
of  Assembly  of  said  Province,  passed  in  the  year  one  thousand  seven 
hundted  seventy-three,  entitled,  "An  Act  for  Making  Perpetual  an 
Act  for  Laying  a  Duty  on  Negro  and  Mulatto  Slaves  Imported  mto 
This  Province,"  and  for  laying  an  additional  duty  on  said  slaves,  shall 
be  and  are  hereby  repealed,  annuled  and  made  void." 

Passed  March  i,  1780.  Recorded  in  Law  Books,  Volume  No.  i, 
Page  No.  339. 


ADVERTISEMENT  FOR  RUNAWAY  NEGRO  SLAVE. 

"American  Weekly  Mercury,  Philadelphia.  Printed  and  Sold  by 
Andrew  Bradford.  Dec.  29,  1719.  Second  Issue.  Advertisement: 
"Run  away  from  his  master,  Phillip  Ludwell,  of  Green  Spring,  in  Vir- 
ginia, on  Saturday,  the  fourth  of  July,  1719,  a  mulatto  man  named 
Johnny,  but  of  a  very  white  complexion,  aged  about  twenty-two  years. 
He  is  tall  and  well  I'imb'd,  he  has  a  little  lump  on  the  small  of  his  left 
leg,  and  small  holes  punched  in  the  upper  part  of  each  ear,  short  dark 
hair  and  broad  teeth  (he  is  my  coach-man).  Whoever  shall  take  up 
such  mulatto  slave  and  bring  him  to  his  said  master  in  Virginia,  or 
to  Henry  Evans  at  Philadelphia,  or  give  notice  thereof  so  that  he  may 
be  had  again,  shall  have  five  pounds  as  reward,  with  all  reasonable 
charges  paid  by  Phillip  or  Henry  Evans." 


FIRST  PROTEST  AGAINST  SLAVERY  IN  PENNSYLVANIA, 
GERMANTOWN,  FEB.  18,  1688. 

"This  is  to  the  Monthly  Meeting  held  at  Richard  Worrell's. 
These  are  the  reasons  why  we  are  against  the  traffic  of  men-body  as 
followeth.  Is  there  any  that  would  be  done  or  handled  at  this  man- 
ner? Viz:  To  be  sold  or  made  a  slave  for  all  the  time  of  his  life? 
How    fearful    and    faint-hearted   are   many   on   sea,   when   they   see   a 


208  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 


strange  vessel,  being  afraid  it  should  be  a  Turk,  and  they  should  be 
taken  and  sold  for  slaves  in  Turkey.  Now  what  is  better  done  than 
Turks  do?  Yea,  rather  worse  for  them,  which  say  they  are  Chris- 
tians; for  we  hear  that  the  most  part  of  such  Negroes  are  brought 
hither  against  their  will  and  consent,  and  that  many  of  them  are  stolen. 
Now,  though  they  are  black,  we  cannot  conceive  there  is  more  liberty 
to  have  them  slaves  (than)  it  is  to  have  other  white  ones.  There 
is  a  saying  that  we  shall  do  to  all  men  like  as  we  will  be  done  our- 
selves, making  no  difference  of  which  generation,  descent,  or  color 
they  are.  And  those  who  steal  and  rob  men,  and  those  who  buy  or 
purchase  them,  are  not  they  all  alike?  Here  is  liberty  of  conscience, 
which  is  right  and  reasonable;  here  ought  to  be  likewise  liberty  of 
the  body,  except  of  evildoers,  which  is  another  case.  But  to  bring 
them  hither,  or  to  rob  and  sell  them  against  their  will,  we  stand 
against.  In  Europe  there  are  many  oppressed  for  conscience  sake; 
and  here  are  those  oppressed  who  are  of  a  black  colour.  And  we 
know  that  men  must  not  commit  adultery,  some  do  commit  adultery 
in  others,  separating  wives  from  their  husbands  and  giving  them  to 
others;  and  some  sell  the  children  of  these  poor  creatures  to  other 
men.  Ah!  do  consider  well  this  thing,  you  who  do  it;  if  you  would 
be  done  at  this  manner?  And  if  it  is  done  according  to  Christianity? 
You  surpass  Holland  or  Germany  in  this  thing.  This  makes  an  ill- 
report  in  all  those  countries  in  Europe  when  they  hear  of  (it),  that 
the  Quakers  do  here  handle  men  as  they  handle  their  cattle,  and  for 
that  reason  some  have  no  mind  or  inclination  to  come  hither.  And 
who  shall  maintain  this  your  cause,  or  plead  for  it?  Truly  we  cannot 
do  so,  except  you  shall  inform  us  better  thereof.  Viz:  That  Christians 
have  liberty  to  practice  these  things.  Pray,  what  thing  in  the  world 
can  be  done  worse  towards  us,  than  if  men  should  rob  or  steal  us 
away,  and  sell  us  for  slaves  to  strange  countries;  separating  hus- 
bands from  their  wives  and  children.  Being  now  this  is  not  done  in  the 
manner  we  should  be  done  (by),  therefore  we  contradict,  and  are 
against  this  traffic  of  men-body,  and  we  who  profess  that  it  is  not 
lawful  to  steal,  must  likewise,  avoid  to  purchase  such  things  as  are 
stolen,  but  rather  help  to  stop  this  robbing  and  stealing  if  possible. 
And  such  men  ought  to  be  delivered  out  of  the  hands  of  robbers, 
and  set  free  as  in  Europe.  Then  in  Pennsylvania  to  have  a  good 
report,  it  hath  now  a  bad  one  for  this  sake  in  other  countries.  Espe- 
cially whereas  the  Europeans  are  desirous  to  know  in  what  manner 
the  Quakers  do  rule  in  their  province:  and  most  of  them  do  look  upon 
us  with  an  envious  eye.  But  if  this  is  done  well,  what  shall  we  say  is 
done  evil? 

"If  once  these  slaves  (which  they  say  are  so  wicked  and  stub- 
born men)  should  join  themselves,  fight  for  their  freedom  and  handle 
their  masters  and  mistresses  as  they  did  handle  them  before,  will 
these  masters  and  mistresses  take  the  sword  at  hand  and  war  against 
these  poor  slaves,  like,  we  are  able  to  believe,  some  will  not  refuse 
to  do?  Or  have  these  Negroes  not  much  right  to  fight  for  their  free- 
dom, as  you  have  to  keep  them  slaves? 

"Now  consider  well  this  thing,  if  it  is  good  or  bad?    And  in  case 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  209 


you  find  it  to  be  good  to  handle  these  blacks  m  that  manner,  we 
desire  and  require  you  hereby  lovingly,  that  you  may  inform  us  here- 
in what  at  this  time  never  v/as  done,  Viz:  That  Christians  have  such  a 
liberty  to  do  so.  To  this  end  we  shall  (may)  be  satisfied  in  this 
point,  and  satisfy  likewise  our  good  friends,  and  acquaintances  in  our 
native  country,  to  whom  it  is  a  terror  or  fearful  thing,  that  men 
should  be  handled  so  in  Pennsylvania. 

"This  is  from  our  meeting  at  Germantown,  held  on  ye  i8  of  the 
2  month,  1688,  to  be  delivered  to  the  Monthly  Meeting  at  Richard 
Worrell's. 

GARRET  HENDERICH, 
DERICK  UP  DEGREFF, 
FRANCIS  DANIELL  PASTORIUS, 
ABRAHAM  j'r  DEN  GRAEF." 

"At  our  Monthly  Meeting  at  Dublin,  ye  30-2  mo.,  1688,  we,  having 
inspected  ye  matter  above  mentioned  and  considered  of  it,  we  find  it 
so  vveighty  that  we  think  it  not  expedient  for  us  to  meddle  with  it 
here,  but  to  commit  to  ye  consideration  of  ye  Quarterly  Meeting:  Ye 
tenor  of  it  being  nearly  related  to  ye  truth. 

"On  behalf  of  ye  Monthly  Meeting. 
(Signed)  P.  JO.  HART." 

But  the  Quarterly  Meeting  only  referred  it  to  the  Yearly  Meet- 
ing, miking  the  following  note: 

"This,  above  mentioned,  was  read  in  our  Quarterly  Meeting,  at 
Philadelphia,  the  4  of  ye  4th  mo.,  '88,  and  was  from  thence  recom- 
mended to  the  Yearly  Meeting,  and  the  above  said  Derick,  and  the 
other  two  mentioned  therein,  to  present  the  same  to  ye  above  said 
Meeting,  it  being  a  thing  of  too  great  weight  for  this  Meeting  to 
determine. 

"Signed  by  order  of  ye  Meeting,        ANTHONY  MORRIS." 


PERCENTAGE  OF  INCREASE  OF  NEGRO  POPULATION 
OF  PENNSYLVANIA  AND  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Whites — Percent.  Negroes — Percent. 

Before  the   Civil  War.              Penna.            U.  S.  Penna.         U.  S. 

1790  to  1800 38.2                35.8  58.4                32.3 

1800  to  1810  34-2       36.1  431       37-5 

1810  to  1820  29.5       34.2  30.6       28.6 

1820  to  1830 28.0       33.9  26.0       31.4 

1830  to  1840 28.0       34.7  25.0      23.4 

1840  to  1850 347      37-8  11.9      26.6 

1850  to  i860  26.2      37.8  6.2      22.1 

After  the  Civil  War. 

i860  to  1870 21.3       24.8  14.7       9.9 

1870  to  1880  21.4       29.2  31.0       34.9 

1880  to  1890 22.7       27.0  25.8       13.8 

1890  to  1900 193       21.2  45.8       18.0 

1900  to  1910 ....  ....       .... 

14 


210 


The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 


SOURCE  OF  FREE  COLORED  POPULATION  OF  PHILADEL- 
PHIA   IN    i860    AND    OF    NEGRO    POPULATION    OF 
PHILADELPHIA  AND  PENNSYLVANIA  IN  1900. 

States  in  which  born 


Alabama    

Arkansas     

California    , 

Connecticut    

Delaware    

Florida    

Georgia     

Illinois     

Indiana    

Iowa     

Kansas    

Kentucky    

Louisiana    

Maine     

Maryland    

Massachusetts     

Michigan     

Minnesota    

Mississippi     

Missouri    

New   Hampshire    .... 

New  Jersey   

New  York  

North   Carolina    

Ohio     

Oregon     

Pennsylvania     

Rhode   Island    

South  Carolina 

Tennessee     

Texas     

Vermont    

Virginia     

Wisconsin     ■ 

District  of  Columbia, 

.\t  Sea   

Not  Stated   

Alaska     

Arizona     

Colorado     

Hawaii     

Idaho    

Indian   Territory   .  . . . 
Montana    


Philadelphia 

Pennsylvania 

1860                 1900 

1900 

I                    III 

415 

. . . , 

0                  18 

67 

2                     48 

43 

38                   108 

164 

2,977             2,527 

5,944 

. . . . 

94 

184 

. . . . 

58               429 

926 

2                 64 

167 

3                  32 

134 

I 

44 

9 

27 

. . . . 

13                  59 

657 

25                  57 

151 

. . . . 

10                  17 

26 



1,976             9,474 

17,415 

II. I 

48                183 

294 

26 

89 

4                  13 

13 

I                  54 

160 

7                 27 

127 

3                   6 

5 

1,047             1,771 

2,571 

138                697 

1,199 

100             3,403 

5,206 

17                172 

1,696 

I 

3 

13,724           22,835 

70,365 

45-1 

9                  52 

74 

205                577 

1,009 

3                109 

835 

42 

95 

3                   10 

16 

.    , 

1,241             16,369 

40,870 

26.1 

36 

17 

145              1,185 

2,067 

I                    6 

. . . 

71                238 

774 

... 

I                    I 

I 

7 

16 

I 

2 

5 

35 

II 

... 

A  Study  In  Economic  History 


211 


States  in  which  born 

Nebraska    

Nevada     

New   Mexico    

North   Dakota    

Oklahoma     

South   Dakota    

Utah    „ 

Washington    

West  Virginia   

Wyoming    

Porto   Rico    

Americans  born 

abroad    

Total    


Philadelphia 
1860  1900 

12 


2 
II 

5 

2 
I 

76 
197 


Pennsylvania 
1900 

14 
I 
I 
I 

I 

2 

159 

1,917 

2 


21,922 


7 
29 

62,253 


155,981 


SOUTHERN  STATES  TO  WHICH  PENNSYLVANIA  BORN 
NEGROES  HAVE  MIGRATED  AND  VICE  VERSA 


States 

Delaware    

Maryland     

District  of  Col.   . 

Virginia     

West  Virginia  . , 
North  Carolina. 
South  Carolina   . 

Georgia    

Florida   

Kentucky     

Tennessee    

Alabama     

Mississippi     .  . .  . , 

Louisiana     

Arkansas   

Texas    


Negroes  born  in 
Pennsylvania  liv- 
ing in  specified 
Southern  States 

848 

1,141 

586 

450 

311 

137 

32 

65 

94 

85 

84 

56 

75 

118 

73 
140 


Negroes  born  in 
specified  Southern 
States  now  living 
in  Pennsylvania 

5,944 
17,415 

2,067 
40,870 

1,917 
5,206 
1,009 

926 

184 

657 

835 

415 

160 

151 
67 
95 


Excess  in 
favor  of 
Pennsyl- 
vania 


Excess  in 

favor  of 

Southera 

States 

5,098 
16,274 

1,481 
40,420 

1,606 

5,069 

977 
861 

90 

572 

751 

35P 

85 

43 

7 

54 


CITIES  HAVING  OVER  500  NEGROES  i860,  AND  1900 

Cities  I860  1900 

Allegheny  City   690  3,3I5 

Braddock  Borough  ....  558 

Carlisle    509  1,148 

Chambersburg    524  y(i^ 

Chester  City   417  4,405 


212 


The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 


Cities 

Columbia    

Harrisburg   City    

Homestead    Borough    

Lancaster  City   . 

McKeesport    City    

Norristown    Borough    

Philadelphia    City    

Pittsburgh   City    , 

Reading   City    

Scranton    City 

Steelton    Borough    

Uniontown  Borough  (Fayette  Co) 
Washington  Borough, 

(Washington  County)    

West  Chester  Borough 

Wikes-Barre    City    

Williamsport  City  

York    City    


1860 

1900 

648 

421 

1,321 

4,107 
640 

29 

'382 

2,185 

777 

748 

728 

62,613 

1,154 
285 

17,040 

534 

I 

1,508 
803 

435 
561 

984 
680 

334 

1,142 
776 

DISTRIBUTION    NEGRO   CITY   POPULATION   BY   WARDS, 


Wards 


I. 
2. 

3- 
4- 
5- 
6. 

7- 
8. 

9- 
10. 
II. 
12. 
13- 
14- 
15- 
16. 

17- 
18. 
19. 
20. 
21. 
22. 
23- 


Philadel- 
phia. 

712 

1,319 
1,704 

2,875 

1,251 

no 

10,462 

2,464 

606 

792 

36 

286 

571 
1,961 
2,423 

102 

125 
18 

270 
2,821 

464 
3,676 

794 


Pitts- 
burgh. 

161 

167 

49 

50 

211 

219 

1,208 

2,595 

55 

3 

1,489 

844 

3,025 

676 

405 

401 

278 

83 

1,326 

1,108 

1,881 

211 

27 


1900. 

Alle-  Scran-  Wilkes-  Harris- 

gheny.  Reading,    ton.        Barre.     burg. 


269 
847 
752 
116 
363 
236 

I 
188 
238 
153 
147 

5 


2 
10 

55 
26 

13 

44 

57 

109 

139 

3 

17 

12 

21 

4 
21 


3 
7 
2 
I 
2 

15 
44 
130 

4 


25 

43 

8 

143 

65 

16 

I 

10 


27 
II 

"61 
104 
21 
20 
63 
13 
35 
82 

45 
129 

31 
19 
19 


310 
467 
190 

339 
99 

550 

467 

1,506 

170 

9 


A  Study  In  Economic  History 


213 


Philadel- 

Wards  phia 

24 2,193 

25 236 

26 2,874 

27 3,171 

28 1,164 

29 3,160 

30 5,242 

31 29 

32 962 

33 766 

34 1,773 

35 364 

36 1,955 

37 284 

38 675 

39 831 

40 689 

41 383 

Total  62,613 


Alle 
gheny 


Pitts- 
burgh 

6 

23 
120 

25 
62 
I 
25 
19 
160 
36 

90 

43 
119 

39 


17,040       3,315 


Scran- 
Reading        ton 


Wilkes- 
Barre 


Harris- 

b    u 


534 


521 


680 


4,107 


NEGRO  POPULATION  IN  COUNTIES  HAVING  NO  LARGE  CITY 
SHOWING  DECREASE  IN  20  AND  10  YEARS 

Counties  1880  1890  1900  20  yrs  10  yrs 

Adams  471  319  338  3 

Bedford  577  587  499  78  88 

Bradford  537  599  307  230  292 

Butler  128  154  115  13  39 

Corbon    8  36  12  24 

Clarion    99  72  16  83  56 

Clinton     286  324  253  33  7i 

Columbia    145  118  126  19          

Crawford     493  314  359  134 

Cumberland    2,167  2,091  1,818  354  273 

Erie     322  308  311  21           

Franklin    2,551  2,019  1,954  597  65 

Fulton     129  112  106  23  6 

Greene     503  445  313  190  132 

Indiana    227  212  160  67  52 

Juniata    261  170  172  89           

Lancaster     2,845  2,603  2,461  384  148 

McKean    326  299  302  24 

Mercer     425  304  351  74 

Mififlm    215  169  162  53  7 

Monroe     155  176  151  4  25 


214  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 


Counties  1880  1890  1900  20  yrs  10  yrs 

Montour    107  96  88  19  8 

Perry    164  137  82  82  55 

Pike     84  107  81  3  26 

Schuylkill    358  374  252  106  122 

Snyder     19  505  3  16  2 

Susquehanna    219  i^  141  78  21 

Tioga     115  91  85  30  6 

Union     133  52  65  68          

Venango    547  473  522  25 

Warren    ' 103  75  52  51  23 

Wayne    31  33  18  13  15 

Wyoming    21  8  14  7          


AGE  DISTRIBUTION  OF   NEGRO  POPULATION   IN   PENNSYL- 
VANIA AND  SOUTHERN  STATES  FROM  WHICH 
NEGROES  EMIGRATE  CHIEFLY. 

Pennsylvania  Virginia  North  Carolina 

Asre  Periods  No.    Per  Cent  No.   Per  Cent  No.    Per  Cent 

Under  15   39,947      25.5  267,410      40.5  268.074      42-9 

15  to  29   55,697      35-5  189,416      28.7  184.183      29.5 

301044   37,971      24.2  101,727      15.4  80,514      12.9 

45  to  59 16,099      10.3  62,892        9.5  57,910        9.3 

59  and  over 6,345        4-0  36,922        5.5  30,803        4.9 

Unknown     786        0.5  2,355        0.4  2,985        0.5 

Totals    156,845    loo.o      660,722    loo.o      624,459    loo.o 


CONJUGAL  CONDITION   OF   NEGROES   IN   PENNSYLVA- 
NIA   AND    VIRGINIA,    THE    PRINCIPAL    SOURCE    OF 
NEGRO  IMMIGRATION,  COMPARED  WITH  CONJU- 
GAL CONDITION  OF  NEGROES  IN  THE  U.  S. 

Negroes  of  U.  S.  Virginia     Pennsylvania. 

Number.     P.  C.  Number.  Females     Males.    Total 

Single     5,346,262  60.5  420,248  40,815  47,584  88,399 

Married    2,867,572  32.5  197,968  28,314  28,276  56,590 

Widowed     565,396  6.4  39,940  8,046  3,055  11,101 

Divorced    33,07i  -4  1,1 15  i79  I35  3I4 

Unknown     21,693  .4  i,45i  I43  298  441 

Totals     8,833,994  660,722      79,348      77,497    156,845 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  215 


ILLITERACY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA  NEGROES  COMPARED  WITH 
NEGROES  OF  OTHER  SECTIONS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

1900 

Negroes    of                                               Total  Illiterates.  P.  C. 

10  Years  and  Over. 

Continental  United  States   6,415,681  2,853,194  44.5 

North  Atlantic  States    320,176  44,275  138 

North    Central   States    404.568  87,914  21.7 

Western    States    25,862  3,399  13.  i 

South  Atlantic   States    2,655,833  1,250,279  47.1 

South  Central  States    3,009,142  1,467,327  48.8 

Pennsylvania    28,935  I9,532  i5-i 

New  York    84,688  9,180  10.8 

New  Jersey    57,534  9,882  17.2 

Massachusetts    -^ 26,573  2,853  10.7 

Virginia    478,921  213,836  44.6 

North    Carolina    437,691  208,132  47.6 

South  Carolina  537,398  283.883  52.8 

Georgia    724,096  379067  52.4 

Alabama    589,629  338,605  52.4 

Mississippi    638,646  313,312  59.1 

Louisiana    464,598  284,028  61.  i 


PROPERTY  HOLDING  AMONG  NEGROES. 
FROM  REPORT  OF  INDUSTRIAL  STATISTICS,  1911. 


SUMMARY  OF  NEGRO  PROPERTY  HOLDING  IN  PHILA- 
DELPHIA.    A  REPORT  BY  R.  R.  WRIGHT,  JR. 

Tax 

Ward  Properties.       valuation. 

1    10                   $19,700 

2    I                       2,700 

3     20                     60,600 

5    6                     23,400 

7    172                   584,900 

8    36                  290,400 

9     I                     12,000 

10     2                    17,000 

12    I                      2,900 

13    I                      2,300 

14   10                    32,600 

15    25                    62,400 

19    2                      3,400 


216 


The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 


Ward 

20  

21   

22      

23  

24  

26  

27  

28   

29  

30   

31   

32  

33  

34  

35  

36  

37  

38  

39  

40  

41  

42  

44  

45  

46  

47  

Totals  . . . . 


Properties.    Tax 
24 
10 
96 
13 

37 

47 

37 

114 

5 
168 

3 
II 

4 

35 

8 

84 

7 
24 

2 
66 

2 

7 
28 

4 
14 
46 


1,080 


Valuation 
53,200 
23,000 
215,300 
11,700 
73,900 
93,900 
92,500 
27,600 
11,000 

484,200 

4,300 

22,400 

1,700 

48,900 

6,250 

159,300 

14,500 

50,100 

3,000 

63,325 

1,900 

10,800 

54,900 

3,400 

26,800 

129,100 

$2,801,275 


SUMMARY    OF    PROPERTIES  OF    NEGROES    OF    PITTS- 
BURGH. 

Ward.  Taxables.     Assessed   value.  Real  value. 

First     I  $26,400  $26,400 

Second    2  26,300  40,000 

Third    44  236,520  367,000 

Fourth     10  23,370  34,^^50 

Fifth     168  331,920  508,350 

Sixth    24  42,840  62,900 

Seventh     18  80,530  1 18,500 

Eighth     9  15,830  22,500 

Ninth     13  15,860  23,300 

Tenth     80  88,700  132,050 

Eleventh    24  62,890  95,30o 

Twelfth     25  50,770  74,500 

Thirteenth    51  1 14,340  175,000 

Fourteenth     5  7,i20  10,400 

Fifteenth    4  3,820  5,400 


A  Study  In  Economic  History 


217 


Ward 

Sixteenth    

Seventeenth     

Eighteenth     

Nineteenth     

Twentieth     

Twenty-first     

Twenty-second  . . . 
Twenty-third  .... 
Twenty-fourth     .  . . 

Twenty-fifth    

Twenty-sixth  .... 
Twenty-seventh    .  . 

Total    

Exemptions     

Grand    total    .  , 


Taxables 

Assessed  Value 

Rea  Value 

2 

4,120 

5,900 

6 

28,140 

42,200 

62 

89,560 

133,800 

II 

14,990 

21,700 

6 

13,240 

19,800 

9 

28,550 

42,800 

4 

12,400 

18,400 

I 

3,000 

4,500 

25 

79,150 

115,700 

i6 

27,160 

40,680 

5 

9,540 

14,300 

643 

38 


681 


$1,437,060 


$1,437,060 


$2,153,830 
406,853 

$2,560,683 


PROPERTY  HOLDING  OF   NEGROES  IN  OTHER 
NIA  CITIBS  AND  TOWNS 


PBNNSYLVA- 


Town  or  District. 


County. 


Williamsport    Lycoming    .. 

Washington    Washington 

Carlisle    Cumberland 

Darby    Delaware    .  . 

Scranton    Lackawanna 

Meadville    Crawford    .  . , 

Lewistown    Mifflin     

Franklin    Venango    . . . 

Uniontown    Fayette    .... 

Titusville    Crawford     .. 

Ardmore     Montgomery 

Harrisburg,  2  wards Dauphin    .  . . 

Langhorne    Bucks    

Lancaster    Lancaster    .. 

Canonsburg    Washington 

Robesonia    Berks     

Norwood    Delaware    .., 

Sharon   Hill   Delaware     .  . . 

Edgemont     Delaware     ... 

Lansdowne     Delaware     . .  . 

Ashton    Delaware     .  . . 

Prospect   Park    Delaware     ... 

Concord    Delaware     ... 

Glenolden     Delaware     ... 


Assessed     Market 
Properties,      value.         value. 

$70,000 

327,050 

309,500 

119,300 

165,000 

38,100 

38,750 

31,700 

33,325 
38,480 
96,400 
66,800 
22,400 
73,000 
59,800 
1,200 
115,100 

3,975 
650 
11,650 
5,725 
1,8^ 
6,760 

2,  IOC 


93 

$50,840 

95 

214,450 

81 

129,700 

69 

72,920 

II 

113,000 

27 

15,060 

22 

19,375 

20 

ii,B75 

21 

25,000 

18 

13,040 

24 

64,250 

41 

41,900 

26 

16,950 

25 

54,900 

14 

46,300 

I 

900 

8 

107,350 

5 

3,075 

I 

500 

7 

10,850 

5 

4,300 

2 

1,400 

9 

6,760 

2 

i,40p 

218  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 


Assessed  Market 

Town  or  District               County.               Properties.  value.  value. 

Lower  Chichester  Delaware    ... 8  5,240  7,700 

Clifton   Heights    Delaware    2  1,600  2,100 

Marple    Delaware    4  3,150  4,250 

Marcus    Hook    Delaware    6  3,300  4,500 

Chester,  2  wards  Delaware    14  21,990  28,000 

Swarthmore    Delaware    3  i,790  2,975 

Ridley  Park  Delaware    3  3,200  4,000 

Colwyn    Delaware    4  2,850  5,30O 

Hayerford   Delaware    4  4,700  6,250 

Springfield    Delaware    4  2,750  3,300 

Bristol    Bucks     17  6,650  1 1,775 

Lower  Makefield  Bucks     5  1,925  2,550 

East  Rock  Hill   Bucks    4  2,120  3,100 

Morrisville    Bucks     6  3,750  5,ioo 

Yardley   Bucks     5  2,000  2,000 

Richland    Bucks  2  3,175  4,100 

Falk    Bucks     5  2,612  2,475 

Wrightstown   Bucks     2  1,300  2,000 

South   Langhorne   Bucks     i  125  150 

Mechanic  Valley   Bucks     .'. 11  3,150  3,150 

Nockamixon    Bucks     i  1,080  1,200 

Emilie    Bucks     2  500  1,000 

Ruscomburaner    Bucks     2  225  275 

West   Rockville    Bucks     3  870  1,150 

Newtown    Bucks    4  i,350  1,600 

Marietta    Lancaster   24  8,100  2,700 

Smethport    McKean    5  2,850  4,500 

Bradford    McKean    13  18,180  40,750 

Mififlintown    Juniata    i  700  1,000 

Montrose    Susquehanna    ....  17  2,200  8,240 

Sewickley    Allegheny    11  24,150  32,500 

Braddock    Allegheny   35  104,475  156,700 

Swatara    Dauphin    5  4,760  6,350 

Omerhn    Dauphin    7  2,700  3,400 

Royalton     Dauphin    2  600  900 

Middletown    Dauphin    14  8,470  11,260 

Steelton    Dauphin    7  10,800  14,390 

Lower  Paxton    Dauphin  2  4,200  5,800 

Penbrook    Dauphin    2  160  250 

Highspire    Dauphin    i  400  500 

Catawissa    Columbia     2  725  1,000 

Bloomsburg    Columbia    11  3,980  9,950 

Tilden    Berks    3  1,740  2,150 

Upper  Bern  Berks    i  80  80 

Wyomissing    Berks    i  100  150 

Reading    Berks   18  41,925  62,750 

Stroudsburg    Monroe   9  6,275  8,375 


A  Study  In  Economic  History 


219 


Town  or  District. 


Assessed     Market 
County.  Properties,    value.  value. 


Lewisburg    Union    

Kingsley    Forest    

Sunbury  Borough   Northumberland 

Warren    Warren    

Milton    Northumberland 

Courtney    Washington    . . . . 

Greensburg    Westmoreland     . 

Hegins    Schuylkill    

Connellsville    Fayette    

Vanderbilt    Fayette    

Cito    Fulton     

Three  Towns   Beaver    

Coudersport    Beaver    

Huntersville    Beaver   

Elizabeth    Allegheny   

Doylestown    Bucks     


4 

2,100 

3,500 

I 

40 

120 

I 

240 

800 

I 

1,500 

3,500 

8 

3,550 

15,150 

4 

5,700 

10,200 

1.3 

18,600 

27,900 

3 

3,500 

7,800 

II 

6,150 

9,900 

13 

16,250 

21,475 

7 

2,060 

2,860 

32 

33,600 

64,500 

2 

960 

1,500 

I 

500 

650 

28 

24,780 

32,900 

3 

1,600 

1,800 

1,072  $1,351,217  $2,316,865 


ADDITIONAL  PROPERTY  OWNERS 


Place.  Property  holders 

Bedford  Springs  20 

Bradford    10 

Chester    102 

Coatesville    50 

Columbia    25 

Erie    2 

Homestead   28 

Irvine    4 

Johnstown    25 

McKeesport  ,  .  30 

Morton    22 

Oil  City 28 

Tyrone     5 

Waynesburg   12 

West  Chester  125 

West  Newton   4 

Wilkes-Barre   36 

York   50 

Totals   578 


Market  value 

$10,000 
75,000 

100,000 

150,000 
35,000 
15,000 

150,000 
5,000 
35,000 
10,000 
25,000 
35.000 
4,500 
10,000 

400,000 

75,000 
80,000 

$1,214,500 


220  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 


SUMMARY 

Number  property  Market 
Place.                           holders     x'\ssessed  v?.Uie  value 

Philadelphia   i,o8o  $2,801,275  $3,735,ooo 

Pittsburgh     643  1,437,060  2,153,830 

Eighty-seven  towns  and  cities         1,072  1,351,217  2,316,865 

Eighteen  towns   578  1,214,500 


Totals  3,373  $5,589,552  $9,4^0,195 


CHURCH  PROPERTY. 

A  great  deal  of  the  property  of  Negroes  is  in  churches.  Among 
the  various  influences  which  the  church  has  had,  has  been  the  en- 
couragement of  co-operative  buying  of  church  properties.  Many 
Negroes  learned,  for  the  first  time,  what  a  deed  meant,  or  a  builders' 
contract,  or  a  mortgage,  etc.,  from  his  participation  in  church  buy- 
ing and  building.  The  Census  Department  reported  in  1906,  that 
Negroes  owned  about  $58,000,000  worth  of  church  property  in  the 
United  States,  of  which  fully  $50,000,000  worth  was  unencumbered. 
As  will  be  seen,  Pennsylvania  Negroes  own  more  than  their  share, 
which  is  due  largely  to  the  fact  that  in  this  State  Negro  churches 
took  root  very  early  and  have  always  been  encouraged  as  one  of  the 
influential   factors   for   the   better   development   of   the    race. 

There  are  about  150  Baptist  Churches  in  the  State  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, but  only  73  of  them  reported  to  the  State  Baptist  Convention, 
and  of  these,  only  44  reported  their  value,  which  was  put  at  $785,230. 
An  average  of  about  $17,850  each.  These,  of  course,  were  the  best 
properties.  The  balance  of  about  100  churches  include  about  fifty 
which  are  more  or  less  temporary  and  own  but  little  property.  If  the 
average  of  these  100  Baptist  Churches  is  $1000,  that  would  give  an 
additional  $100,000  of  church  property,  and  a  total  of  $885,230,  the 
value  of  the  property  of  Negro  Baptists.  There  are  196  African 
Methodist  Churches  in  the  State,  of  which  136  are  of  the  African 
Methodist  Episcopal  denomination  and  60  African  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Zion  denomination.  Of  the  former  106  reported  at  the  last  con- 
ference session,  a  property  valuation  of  $1,067,213.  Allowing  a  valu- 
ation of  $100  each  for  the  36  not  reported,  we  have  136  properties 
of  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  State  of  Pennsyl- 
vania valued  at  $1,097,213.     Of  the  latter,  46  reported  property  valu- 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  221 


ed  at  $553,824,  an  average  of  about  $12,000  each.  If  the  average 
vakie  of  the  remaining  14  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Zion  Churches 
is  $1000,  the  total  valuation  w^ould  be  about  $567,824. 

There  were  fourteen  Presbyterian  Churches  whose  value  is  esti- 
mated at  $190,000,  and  eight  Episcopal  Churches  valued  at  about 
$ioo,oco.  There  are  a  number  of  Negro  congregations  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church,  the  chief  ones  being  in  Philadelphia  and 
Pittsburgh.  They  own  about  $250,000  worth  of  property.  Other 
churches  are  the  A.  U.  M.  P.,  the  Church  of  God,  Congregational 
and  C.  M.  E.  Church,  and  several  independent  churches  who  ovv^n 
property  valued  at  about  $ioo,oco.  This  would  make  the  total  amount 
of  church  property  owned  by  Negroes  approximately,  as  follows: 

Baptists    $885,230 

A.   M.   E 1,067,213 

A.  M.  E.  Zion 567,824 

Methodist  (North)    250,000 

Presbyterian    190,000 

Episcopalian    100,000 

Other  denominations  ioo,coo 

Total  value  of  church  property  ....       $3,160,267 


GENERAL  ESTIMATE  OF  PROPERTY. 

By  the  above  it  is  seen  that  in  the  cities  of  Philadelphia  and 
Pittsburgh,  the  assessed  value  of  property,  exclusive  of  churches,  is 
$4,238,335;  that  in  eighty-seven  other  cities  and  towns  the  assessed, 
value  of  1072  properties  is  $1,351,217,  making  a  total  of  $5,589,552, 
having  a  market  value  of  $8,205,695.  To  this  market  value  must  be 
added  the  estimated  holdings  of  Negroes  in  eighteen  other  cities  and 
tov/ns  with  a  market  value  of  $1,214,500  and  $3,160,260,  the  value 
of  church  property,  making  a  total  of  $12,580,455  as  the  value  of  hold- 
ings of  Negroes  in  this  State. 

If  we  consider  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  data,  and  scan  carefully 
the  list  of  places  reported,  we  must  conclude  that  this  estimate  is 
possibly  25  per  cent,  under  the  real  holdings  of  Negroes  in  the  State. 
I  would  estimate  that  they  own  property,  the  most  conservative  esti- 
mate of  whose  vakie  is  $15,000,000  to  $20,000,000. 


222  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

POPULATION,  PROPERTY  HOLDINGS,   ETC.,   NOT  IN- 
CLUDED IN  '.PRECEDING  REPORT. 


Short  sketches  of  Negroes  in  Pennsylvania  cities  and  towns,  com- 
piled from  letters  from  city  and  town  officials,  resident  ministers, 
teachers,  physicians,  etc.,  and  personal  observation: 

ALTOONA,  Blair  County;  population  1900:  38,566  whites,  407 
colored.  Estimated  colored  population  in  1907  was  1000.  Negroes  are 
scattered  more  or  less,  but  find  it  difficult  to  rent.  There  are  about  25 
home  owners,  having  about  $300,000  worth  of  property;  one  Negro 
is  reputed  to  be  worth  $250,000,  owning  some  of  the  most  valuable 
portions  of  the  city.  Chief  businesses  are:  i  contractor,  i  retail  furni- 
ture store,  occupying  about  2500  square  feet  of  space;  i  pool  room,  2 
restaurants,  7  barber  shops,  25  independent  teamsters,  4  teamsters 
and  excavators,  i  tailor,  10  plasterers,  i  dying  establishment.  Wages 
of  the  women  in  domestic  service  from  $3.00  to  $5.00  per  week,  and 
$1.00  per  day.  Men  get  $1.50  per  day.  Three  churches:  A.  M.  E., 
A.  M.  E.  Z.,  and  Baptist,  with  a  total  of  138  members.  Masons,  Odd 
Fellows,  True  Reformers.  Mixed  school,  no  Negro  teachers;  2  po- 
licemen, I  high  school  graduate  in  1907  now  attending  Howard  Uni- 
versity, I  in  1906. 

BEDFORD  SPRINGS,  Bedford  County:  i  colored  lawyer,  3 
barbers,  more  waiters,  about  25  persons  own  their  homes;  one  Negro 
worth  $5000,  I  farmer  owns  65  acres.  One  young  woman  graduated 
in  1906,  and  now  in  college,  none  in  1907,  4  since  1900;  several  cases 
of  inter-marriage  between  Negroes  and  whites. 

BLOOMSBURG,  Columbia  County:  6067  whites,  97  colored. 
There  are  4  Negro  property  owners,  one  farmer  having  30  acres,  3 
barber  shops,  shaving  both  colored  and  white;  7  women  in  silk  mills, 
others  in  hotels  and  domestic  service;  i  church,  no  inter-marriage, 
mixed  schools,  i  death  in  1906,  3  births,  2  still  births. 

COATESVILLE,  Chester  County.  Population,  1900:  5288  white, 
433  colored.  Estimated  Negro  population  1907,  1000.  Negroes  chief- 
ly day  laborers  and  in  domestic  and  personal  service;  about  a  dozen 
men  in  business;  chief  businesses  are  a  blacksmith  shop,  groceries, 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  223 


tailoring,  barbering,  dressmaking,  express  and  hauling,  i  physician, 
a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  Medical  School;  4 
school  teachers,  i  postoflice  employe,  6  firemen,  i  policeman,  50  prop- 
erty holders,  value  of  property  estimated  at  $150,000;  4  churches. 
Much  immigration  from  South  during  recent  years;  race  prejudice 
has  increased;  i  case  of  inter-marriage. 

COLUMBIA,  Columbia  County.  Population,  11,893;  4^3  color- 
ed. Negroes  came  to  this  town  as  early  as  1819,  most  of  them  be- 
ing manumitted  slaves  from  Virginia;  at  a  later  time  some  fugitive 
slaves  were  among  them.  After  passage  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  in 
1850,  there  was  considerable  emigration  of  many  of  the  best  Negroes, 
not  less  than  75  persons.  Columbia  was  one  of  the  most  important 
places  in  the  Underground  Railroad  in  Pennsylvania,  and  held  among 
its  population  some  of  the  most  prominent  Negroes.  Both  Stephen 
Smith,  the  lumber  merchant  and  philanthropist,  and  William  Whipple 
lived  here.  At  present  there  are  about  500  Negroes  who  work  chiefly 
in  domestic  service  and  do  common  labor  on  traction  road,  and  some 
few  are  employed  in  the  rolling  mill,  which  has  one  colored  foreman. 
W(ages  for  men  very  from  $1.25  per  day  to  $1.50.  There  are  2 
churches:  i  A.  M.  E.,  i  Baptist;  a  separate  primary  school  having 
two  teachers  and  56  pupils — 28  girls  and  27  boys  between  the  ages  of 
6  and  14  years.  There  are  three  Negro  children  in  the  High  School, 
but  no  graduates.  The  businesses  are  all  small,  and  consist  of  2  bar- 
ber shops,  3  teamsters,  i  small  notion  store,  i  small  grocery,  i  itiner- 
ant meat  dealer  and  2  boarding  houses.  There  are  lodges  of  Odd 
Fellows  and  True  Reformers  and  Household  of  Ruth.  The  Metro- 
politan Life  Insurance  Society  and  the  Baltimore  Mutual  do  a  good 
business  among  the  Negroes.  The  Negroes  live  chiefly  in  small  one- 
and  two-story  houses,  made  of  rough  boards,  on  alleys  from  12  to  20 
feet  wide;  some  of  these  houses  are  worn  out  and  about  to  fall,  while 
others  are  newly  painted  or  whitewashed,  and  appear  neat.  A  few 
families  live  in  brick  houses  on  Fifth  street.  There  are  about  25 
property  holders  with  property  valued  at  about  $35,000.  The  com- 
munity has  made  practically  no  progress  in  a  generation. 

ELIZABETH,  Allegheny  County.  Total  population  in  1900  was 
1866.  About  20  families  own  properties  valued  from  $1500  upward. 
One  man  has  a  large  grocery  and  employs  2  persons.  Two  teamsters, 
2  pupils  in  High  School;  no  graduates. 


224  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

ERIE,  Erie  County.  52,483  whites  and  250  colored.'  2  ice  cream 
manufacturers  and  2  barber  shops  are  the  chief  businesses.  Negro  men 
are  waiters,  porters,  laborers  in  stores  and  foundry;  women  work  in 
private  families.  There  is  i  policeman,  i  young  woman  graduated 
from  High  School  in  1907,  now  bookkeeper  in  ice  cream  factory. 
There  are  two  farmers,  i  owning  59  acres;  i  Negro  is  said  to  be 
worth  $75,000.  There  are  6  cases  of  inter-marriage  among  the  races, 
Negro  men  marrying  white  women  in  every  case.  More  emigration 
than  immigration.  Emigrants  go  chiefly  to  rolling  mill  centre  at 
Youngstown,  Ohio,  i  A.  M.  E.  Church,  30  members;  i  lodge  of 
Masons. 

FRANKLIN,  Venango  County.  Population:  7043  whites  and 
274  colored.  Negroes  work  chiefly  in  steel  mills  and  oil  refinery, 
averaging  $1.50  per  day;  some  are  waiters,  porters  and  general  labor- 
ers; women  are  domestic  servants.  There  are  12  property  holders; 
I  girl  graduate  of  High  School  in  1906  studying  music;  i  young  man 
graduated  in  1907  and  is  .studying  pharmacy.  There  is  one  store- 
keeper, 4  churches:  i  A.  M.  E.,  i  A.  M.  E.  Z.,  i  Free  Methodist,  i 
Wesleyan  Church.     True  Reformers  and  Masons  have  lodges. 

GREENSBURG,  Westmoreland  County.  Population,  1900: 
6374  whites,  134  colored.  Business:  i  restaurant,  i  tailor  and  dyer, 
1  barber,  i  shining  parlor.  Negroes  in  domestic  service  chiefly.  7 
persons   own  homes. 

HARRISBURG,  Dauphin  County,  Capital  of  Pennsylvania. 
46,044  whites,  2107  Negroes,  10  Chinese,  6  Indians.  Estimated  Negro 
population  in  1907,  6000.  Negroes  live  chiefly  in  three  or  four  "settle- 
ments" of  four  or  five  blocks  each.  The  oldest  is  within  one  block  of 
the  State  Capitol  and  the  depot  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  about 
South,  Short,  Walnut,  State,  Cowden  and  Filbert  Streets,  and  adja- 
cent alleys.  Jews  and  Negroes  live  side  by  side.  Other  Negro  set- 
tlements are  about  Balm  Street.  There  are:  i  undertaker,  i  steam 
fitter,  6  restaurants,  4  caterers,  i  tailor,  i  peanut  and  coffee  roaster, 
I  contractor,  6  expressmen,  i  wrapper  manufacturer,  i  notions  and 
dry  goods  store,  7  barbers,  2  hand  laundries,  i  shoe  repairer,  i  chir- 
opodist, I  insurance  society,  i  pool  room,  8  coal,  wood  and  ice  deal- 
ers, I  ladies'  tailor  and  dealer  in  second-hand  clothing,  i  Building  and 
Loan  Association.  Chief  occupation  for  both  men  and  women  is 
domestic  service.  There  are  about  25  Negroes  employed  as  janitors, 
messengers  and  clerks  in  the  State  House,  at  salaries  from  $50  per 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  225 

month  to  $I200  per  year;  5  Negroes  are  in  postoffice,  and  31  in  city 
offices,  and  5  on  the  police  force.  There  are  3  physicians,  i  lawyer, 
I  dentist  and  10  teachers;  2  A.  M.  E.  Churches,  i  A.  M.  E.  Zion 
Church,  Baptist  Churches,  i  Presbyterian  and  i  Episcopal  Churches. 
There  are  schools  composed  entirely  of  Negroes.  Four  cases  of  inter- 
marriage are  reported.  Immigration  has  been  heavy  in  recent  years. 
There  are  3  nurses,  2  stenographers  and  typewriters,  10  graduates 
from  High  School  in  1906.  There  were  637  arrests  in  1905;  77  births 
and  109  deaths;  about  175  marriages. 

HOMESTEAD,  Allegheny  County.  Population,  1900,  11,903 
whites,  651  colored;  estimated  Negro  population,  1907,  was  800;  sub- 
urb of  Pittsburgh;  built  up  around  the  iron  and  steel  industry,  in 
which  Negro  workingmen  earning  from  90c  to  $6  per  day.  A 
few  men  do  common  labor  at  $1.60  to  $1.50  per  day;  and  some  are 
porters,  butlers  and  domestic  servants.  Women  earn  as  domestics 
from  $3.50  to  $4.50.  Negroes  have  come  to  Homestead  chiefly  since 
the  strike  of  1892,  when  a  number  of  them  were  brought  there  as 
strike  breakers.  Prior  to  this  time  Negroes  were  few  and  worked 
chiefly  in  lumber  and  brick  yards.  A  few  Negroes  are  helpers  on 
open-hearth  furnaces,  earning  from  $4  to  $6  per  day.  The  chief  busi- 
nesses are:  3  groceries,  6  barber  shops,  6  teamsters,  several  carpen- 
ters, masons,  i  undertaker,  2  doctors,  2  men  in  post  office,  i  mail 
clerk  and  i  carrier,  2  policemen,  i  graduate  from  high  school  in  1907; 
about  28  persons  own  homes;  i  Negro  said  to  be  worth  about  $100,- 
000;  14  pieces  of  property,  bank  stock,  stock  in  coal  corporation. 
There  is  one  land  company,  and  one  small  co-operative  grocery  store 
started  in  1903. 

IRVINE,  Warren  County;  population,  1900,  307;  about  70  Ne- 
groes, 4  property  holders;  4  barber  shops;  several  coal  miners;  2 
small  churches,  A.  M.  E.  and  A.  M.  E.  Zion. 

JOHNSTOWN,  Cambria  County,  35,613  whites,  323  colored. 
Chief  occupations  are  janitors,  waiters,  porters;  the  two  largest  hotels 
employ  Negro  waiters.  About  25  property  holders.  Negroes  have 
begun  to  buy  because  of  difficulty  in  securing  homes.  Several  Negroes 
own  more  than  i  piece  of  property  and  rent  to  others  of  their  race. 
There  are  8  barber  shops,  2  hotels,  one  in  the  business  part  of  the 
town  between  the  Majestic  Theatre  and  the  Columbia  Opera  House; 
I  transfer  company,  i  restaurant,  i  lodging  house,  5  expressmen,  i 
contractor    (painter),   does   the   work    for   the   Cambria   Steel    Com- 

15 


226  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

pany;  i  tar  and  gravel  roofer,  employing  lo  men;  i  sign  painter,  i 
contractor  for  excavating,  now  working  on  railroad  with  Negroes 
and  Hungarians;  i  newspaper;  i  real  estate  dealer,  i  National  Real 
Estate  and  Investment  Company,  incorporated  at  $10,000  in  1905,  at 
$5  per  share;  has  branch  offices  in  Alabama,  Kansas,  Florida  and 
South  Carolina  and  Georgia.  Johnstown  has  had  only  one  Negro 
High  School  graduate.  She  is  now  teaching  in  Washington,  D.  C. 
There  are  2  colored  women's  clubs;  i  Negro  member  of  the  Civic 
Club;  Coachmen's  and  Porter's  Club;  lodges  of  Masons,  Eastern 
Star,  Mystic  Shriners,  Odd  Fellows,  Household  of  Ruth,  Knights  of 
Pythias,  Court  of  Calanthia,  Good  Samaritans,  3  churches,  i  Baptist, 
I  A.  M.  E.,  I  A.  M.  E.  Zion.    Several  cases  of  intermarriage. 

LEWISTOWN,  MifBin  County;  total  population,  4451;  132  Ne- 
groes; 7  property  holders;  3  barber  shops,  2  of  which  shave  whites 
only;  i  teamster,  i  dressmaker,  i  notion  store;  some  Negroes  in 
steel  works  and  hotels;  i  electrician,  2  churches,  with  27  members; 
5  cases  of  intermarriage;  i  lodge  of  Odd  Fellows. 

McKEESPORT,  Allegheny  County.  Population,  1900.  But  little 
immigration  from  the  South;  10  business  men,  2  ministers,  i  physi- 
cian. Property  valued  at  $80,000;  2  churches,  5  high  school  graduates, 
10  pupils  now  in  high  school.  Negroes  "are  thrifty  and  manv  of 
them  are  buying  property  because  the  tendency  is  not  to  rent  to  them 
in  desirable  locations."  Prejudice  against  Negroes  has  increased. 
One  Negro  on  police  force  said  by  the  chief  of  police  to  be  "very 
good." 

MEADVILLE,  Crawford  County,  10,110  whites  and  181  colored; 
a  college  town,  i  church  (A.  M.  E.);  no  graduates  from  high  school, 
10  property  holders;  chief  work,  domestic  service,  railroad  work,  i 
barber,  i  carpenter;  value  of  church  and  parsonage,  $10,000. 

MONONGAHELA,  Washington  County.  Population,  1900,  4827 
whites,  346  colored.  'There  are  6  barber  shops,  4  teamsters,  i  paver, 
several  dressmakers,  brick  and  stone  masons;  mixed  school;  no  Ne- 
gro teacher;  i  graduate  from  high  school,  1906,  and  none  in  1907; 
no  intermarriages. 

MONESSEN,  Westmoreland  County;  2197  total  population  1900; 
about  250  Negroes  in  1907.  About  150  men  work  chiefly  for  Pitts- 
burgh Steel  Company,  of  whom  28  are  wire  drawers,  earning  about 
$4.00  per  day  of  11  hours;  others  are  firemen,  boiler  tenders,  etc. 
Negroes  started  here  in  1902,  when  32  wire  drawers  got  free  passes 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  221 


from  Joliet,  III,  and  a  guarantee  of  $4.00  per  day  to  come  here  to 
work;  6  of  the  original  32  still  remain.  There  are  2  churches:  A.  M^ 
E.  and  Baptist;  i  Negro  doctor,  3  barber  shops,  shaving  whites  only. 

NEW  CASTLE,  Lawrence  County.  Population,  1900,  27,868^ 
whites  and  471  colored.  About  800  Negroes  in  1907.  Negroes  chiefly 
porters,  butlers,  hod  carriers,  laborers  in  steel  mills;  a  few  plasterers;. 
6  barber  shops;  i  pool  room,  2  restaurants,  4  churches,  2  Baptist^ 
A.  M.  E.,  and  A.  M.  E.  Zion;  i  physician;  no  graduates  from  high 
school,  1906  or  1907.  True  Reformers,  Odd  Fellows  and  Masons 
have  lodges;  some  immigration. 

OIL  CITY,  Venango  County.  Population,  1900,  13,072  whites 
and  182  colored.  Men  work  in  machine  works,  and  with  oil  com- 
pany at  $1.50  to  $2.50  per  day;  some  waiters,  laborers,  bartenders 
and  porters.  About  four-fifths  of  the  people  own  their  homes;  2 
cases  of  intermarriage;  i  A.  M.  E.  Church. 

OXFORD,  Chester  County.  Population,  1900,  2032.  Near  Lin- 
coln University.  There  are  3  ministers,  i  teacher,  12  business  men. 
Some  immigration  and  some  emigration  in  past  years.  Prejudice  has 
not  increased.  "The  condition  of  the  Negro  here  is  not  so  inviting, 
the  few  in  business  make  no  mark  in  the  business  world,  the  several 
are  doing  fairly  well  on  a  small  scale." 

PHILADELPHIA,  Philadelphia  County.  Population,  1900, 
1,229,673  whites,  62,613  Negroes.  Negro  population  now  (1907)  about 
80,000.  Negroes  lived  most  largely  in  the  4th,  7th,  8th,  15th,  22d, 
24th,  27th,  29th,  30th  wards,  but  are  generally  scattered  over  the  city. 
Voting  population  was,  in  1900,  20,095,  of  whom  2190  Negroes  were 
illiterate;  416  persons  owned  houses,  of  which  198  were  encumbered. 
In  1907  there  were  802  pieces  of  property  owned,  the  taxable  value 
of  which  was  $2,438,675;  Negroes  have  over  $3,000,000  in  banks;  more 
than  800  persons  in  business;  40  incorporated  businesses;  savings 
banks.  The  chief  occupation  is  domestic  service,  in  which  more  than 
95  per  cent,  of  the  female  and  65  per  cent,  of  the  males  were  engaged 
in  1900.  There  is,  however,  an  increasing  number  of  Negroes  in  the 
professions,  trade  and  transportation  and  in  manufacturing  and 
mechanical  pursuits.  There  are  80  churches,  with  approximately 
28,000  members;  of  these  31  are  Baptists,  17  are  A.  M.  E.  Churches, 
8  Methodist  Episcopal  Churches,  6  Episcopal  Churches,  5  A.  M.  E. 
Zion,  4  Presbyterian,  etc.  The  schools  are  mixed.  There  are  about 
50  teachers,  teaching  Negroes  chiefly.     Negroes  attend  school  fairly 


228  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

well.  There  have  been  graduates  from  the  high  and  normal  schools 
each  year  during  recent  years.  There  are  lodges  of  Masons,  Elks, 
Odd  Fellows,  True  Reformers  and  other  secret  orders,  Negroes  are 
emigrating  to  the  city  in  large  numbers,  chiefly  from  Virginia,  Mary- 
land, North  Carolina;  about  150  cases  of  intermarriage. 

PITTSBURGH  (including  Allegheny),  Allegheny  County.  Popu- 
lation, 1900,  451,512,  of  whom  Negroes  comprised  20,355  (Pittsburgh, 
17,040;  Allegheny,  3315).  Negroes  are  chiefly  in  8th  and  13th  wards, 
along  Wylie,  Bedford  and  Centre  avenues;  but  are  also  in  every  ward 
in  the  city;  the  movement  of  the  population  has  been  eastward  for 
several  years;  many  of  the  most  prosperous  Negroes  live  in  the  East 
End  of  Pittsburgh.  In  1900  there  were  259  homes  owned,  of  which 
146  were  encumbered.  Considerably  over  a  million  dollars'  worth 
of  property  must  be  owned  today.  More  than  300  Negroes  are  in 
business  employing  about  1000  Negroes.  The  chief  businesses  are 
barber  shops,  restaurants,  hotels,  excavating  and  hauling.  Negroes 
are  largely  employed  in  the  steel  mills  and  some  have  very  respon- 
sible places.  Negro  puddlers  are  used  exclusively  in  the  Park's 
Mills  (The  Black  Diamond);  Negro  rollers  are  employed  in  the  Old 
Clark's  mills,  now  owned  by  the  Carnegie  Steel  Company,  of  the 
United  States  Steel  Corporation.  There  are  5  lawyers,  more  than  a 
dozen  physicians,  dentists  and  pharmacists,  but  no  teachers.  There 
are  175  Negroes  in  the  employ  of  the  Federal,  county  and  city  gov- 
ernment, of  whom  25  are  policemen  and  about  40  in  the  post  office. 
There  are  nearly  40  churches,  the  Baptist  having  the  largest  num- 
ber and  the  largest  memberships.  Immigration  is  very  heavy,  espe- 
cially from  Virginia  and  North  Carolina. 

PITTSTON,  Luzerne  County;  about  12,530  whites  and  26  col- 
ored in  1900;  in  1906  about  150  colored;  i  family  owns  home.  Ne- 
groes chiefly  in  domestic  service  and  unskilled  labor;  coachmen  and 
waiters;  i  Negro  has  peanut  stand,  2  teamsters,  i  novelty  manufac- 
turer, I  A.  M.  E.  Church,  i  lodge,  Odd  Fellows;  no  intermarriage. 

SCRANTON,  Lackawanna  County.  Population,  1900,  101,487 
•whites  and  539  colored.  Principal  businesses  are  teaming,  i  man 
running  12  teams,  employing  40  persons;  i  grocery,  i  hotel  of  40 
rooms,  2  barber  shops.  Men  are  largely  coachmen,  messengers, 
waiters,  a  few  coal  miners;  women  chiefly  domestics,  2  graduates 
from  high  school  in  1907,  i  teaching  in  West  Virginia,  the  other  in 
a  business  college;  i  lawyer,  2  churches,  A.  M.  E.  and  Baptist;  lodges. 
Masons,  Odd  Fellows,  Elks,  True  Reformers. 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  229 

STEELTON,  Dauphin  County,  suburb  of  Harrisburg.  Popula- 
tion, 10,575  whites,  1571  colored.  This  town  is  built  around  the  steel 
industry.  Negroes  are  chiefly  on  Adams  and  Ridge  streets,  largely 
segregated.  .Only  a  few  own  homes.  The  principal  businesses  are: 
I  general  store,  2  small  confectionery  and  notion  stores,  i  tobacco 
store,  2  restaurants,  2  pool  rooms,  4  express  and  hauling,  4  barber 
shops,  2  rag  and  junk  dealers,  i  manicurist,  i  undertaker,  2  carpen- 
ters, I  plasterer,  i  newspaper,  i  building  and  loan  association,  i 
cleaning  and  pressing  establishment.  The  chief  occupation  is  labor* 
ing  in  the  steel  mills,  where  about  500  Negroes  are  employed.  There 
are  some  foremen,  and  one  machinist.  Women  do  but  little  work. 
There  are  2  Baptist  Churches  and  i  A.  M.  E.  Church,  having  an 
aggregate  membership  of  about  700  persons;  there  is  one  physician, 
a  graduate  of  Lincoln  University  and  Howard  University;  5  teachers 
in  public  schools.  The  Negro  pupils  are  taught  chiefly  by  Negro 
teachers;  no  graduates  in  1907  from  high  school.  There  are  three 
Negro  policemen,  i  detective,  i  clerk  in  the  Steel  Company's  store, 
I  member  of  the  City  Council;  25  Negroes  own  property,  Negroes 
first  entered  steel  mills  as  strike  breakers.  Immigration  has  been 
very  heavy  in  past  ten  years,  chiefly  from  Virginia,  Maryland  and 
North  Carolina. 

TYRONE,  Blair  County.  Population,  1900,  115  Negroes,  54 
males  and  61  females,  and  5731  whites.  Negroes  are  chiefly  porters, 
laborers;  5  property  holders,  i  farmer  owns  70  acres.  There  are  five 
barber  shops,  one  hairdresser,  i  A.  M.  E.  Church  at  Hollidaysburg; 
a  few  miles  away  one  Negro  does  a  large  confectionery  business. 
Hollidaysburg  had  116  Negroes  in  1900. 

UNIONTOWN,  Fayette  County.  Population  in  1900,  6537 
whites,  807  colored;  now  (1907)  about  1200  colored;  about  15  home 
owners,  averaging  $1000  each.  Businesses  include  2  small  grocers,  2 
restaurants,  4  barber  shops,  3  of  which  for  whites  only;  i  employ- 
ment agency,  4  dressmakers,  2  boarding  houses,  i  bricklayer  and 
carpenter.  Men  work  principally  in  the  coal  mines  and  coke  manu- 
factory. Wages  range  from  $1.15  to  $3.50  per  day.  All  hotels  have 
Negro  waiters.  Women  chiefly  in  domestic  service.  There  are  4 
farmers  in  neighborhood,  having  from  10  to  40  acres.  There  are  4 
churches,  2  Baptists,  and  i  A.  M.  E.  and  i  A.  M.  E.  Zion;  mixed 
schools;  no  Negro  teachers;  i  physician  and  i  electrical  engineer. 
There  were  4  Negro  graduates  from  the  high  school  in  1907  and  2  in 


230  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

1906.  About  350  Negro  pupils  in  school.  Lodges  of  Knights  of 
Pythias,  Odd  Fellows,  Good  Samaritans  and  True  Reformers  are  in 
the  city.  Considerable  immigration  in  past  two  years,  from  Virginia, 
North  Carolina  and  Maryland;  i   Negro  policeman. 

WASHINGTON,  Washington  County.  Population,  1900,  6677 
whites  and  993  colored.  Estimated  Negro  population  in  1907  was 
1500.  Businesses  are:  i  grocery,  3  restaurants,  8  barbers,  boarding 
houses,  I  contractor,  i  plasterer,  i  tailor,  2  hairdressers,  2  caterers. 
There  are  4  churches,  A.  M.  E.,  A.  M.  E.  Z.,  Baptist  and  M.  E.; 
I  lawyer,  i  physician,  3  teachers  under  a  white  principal.  Colored 
children  in  separate  room  from  whites  in  public  school;  i  high  school 
graduate  (male),  1907,  2  in  1906;  i  former  graduate  is  a  physician 
in  Virginia;  a  few  cases  of  intermarriage;  large  immigration  from 
Virginia  and  West  Virginia.  Men  work  chiefly  in  tin-plate  manufac- 
tory and  coal  mines,  earning  from  $4.50  to  $7.50  per  day.  About  150 
persons  own  property,  one  owning  7  houses,  valued  at  $10,000;  an- 
other having  property  valued  at  $5000.  Church  property  valued  at 
$40,000.  People  live  in  good  houses,  scattered  in  all  parts  of  the 
city. 

WAYNESBURG,  Greene  County.  Population,  1900,  62,390 
whites  and  154  colored.  Men  work  in  tin-plate  mills  for  $1.50  to  $5 
per  day;  finishers  being  able  to  earn  the  latter  amount;  about  one- 
third  of  the  Negroes  own  their  homes;  but  not  as  much  property  is 
owned  as  formerly;  one  Negroe  owns  property  worth  $20,000.  There 
are  3  barber  shops,  3  teamsters,  i  carpenter,  i  plasterer,  i  A.  M.  E. 
Church,  I  lodge  of  Masons;  no  graduates;  no  intermarriage. 

WEST  CHESTER,  Chester  County.  Population,  1900,  7739 
whites,  1785  colored.  Estimated  Negro  population,  1907,  2000;  chief 
occupations  of  men  are  common  labor,  work  in  brickyards  and  mills; 
of  women,  domestic  service;  wages,  $1.25  to  $3.00  per  day  for  men; 
$2  to  $5  per  day  for  women.  45  Negroes  in  business,  6  restaurants, 
I  hotel,  8  barbers,  i  real  estate  dealer,  i  blacksmith,  i  excavating  con- 
tractor, 2  shining  parlors,  i  colt  trainer,  i  contractor,  i  caterer,  2 
hairdressers,  2  boarding  houses,  i  grocery,  3  expressmen,  3  fish  and 
vegetable  dealers,  4  junk  dealers,  5  dressmakers,  i  bakery,  i  paper 
hanger.  There  are  also  i  stone  mason,  2  bricklayers,  i  engineer, 
sveral  fireman  and  brickmakers.  The  'Negro  business  people  employ 
from  58  to  75  persons.  In  this  hotel  9  are  employed  regularly.  There 
are  6  teachers,  2  post  office  employes,  i  physician,  8  ministers,  i  po- 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  231 

liceman.  Property  is  estimated  to  be  worth  $600,000.  But  little  im- 
migration during  recent  years;  not  much  prejudice.  Negro  school 
put  under   Negro  principal  a  year  ago. 

WEST  NEWTON,  Westmoreland  County.  Population  in  1900, 
2467.  Negroes  now  estimated  at  200  (1907);  4  property  holders;  2 
barber  shops,  serving  only  whites;  i  restaurant,  2  engineers.  Mining 
is  the  chief  work  of  the  Negroes;  a  few  work  in  radiator  and  boiler 
works;  a  few  teamsters,  coachmen  and  hotel  workers.  Women  wash 
and  sew  chiefly;  i  church  (A.  M.  E.);  no  lodge.  Population  is  de- 
creasing on  account  of  scarcity  of  coal.  The  church  membership  has 
decreased  by  50  per  cent. 

WILKES-BARRE,  Luzerne  County.  Population,  1900,  51,030 
white,  685  colored.  Negro  population  in  1907  estimated  about  1000. 
No  physician,  3  ministers,  2  post  office  employes,  i  clerk  and  i  car- 
rier, I  Court  officer  with  whites,  good;  Negroes  own  between  $75,000 
and  $100,000  of  property;  one  stock  clerk  in  wholesale  store,  i  sten- 
ographer with  large  coal  company;  majority  of  men  work  in  hotels, 
clubs  and  daily  unskilled  labor;  women  in  domestic  service;  23  busi- 
ness men,  6  barber  shops,  i  hotel,  several  express  men  and  general 
haulers,  2  tile  setters,  i  weekly  newspaper,  2  churches,  i  mission,  i 
lodge  of  Odd  Fellows;  but  little  immigration  from  South. 

WILLIAMSPORT,  Lycoming  County.  Population,  1900,  27,613 
whites.  1 144  colored;  about  40  property  holders,  one  of  whom  owns 
eight  houses.  Negroes  are  not  segregated,  but  scattered  over  the 
city.  Chief  businesses:  i  steam  laundry,  employing  10  persons;  3  res- 
taurants, 4  paper  hangers,  4  paper  hangers  and  painters,  2  carpenters, 
3  plasterers,  i  bricklayer,  2  grocery  stores,  i  hotel,  3  colored  barber 
shops  and  about  a  dozen  teams.  Negroes  work  in  silk  braid  factory, 
I  foreman;  laborers  in  the  lumber  mills;  waiters,  porters,  etc.  There 
are  4  churches,  aggregating  640  members;  i  A.  M.  E.,  i  A.  M.  E. 
Z.  and  2  Baptists;  2  lodges  of  Odd  Fellows,  i  of  Masons,  i  of  True 
Reformers;  i  policeman,  i  constable,  2  men  in  post  office,  i  letter 
carrier,  i  lawyer;  no  teachers;  mixed  schools;  2  graduates  from  high 
school,  107,  and  i  graduate,  1906;  3  cases  of  intermarriage. 

YORK,  York  County.  Population,  1900,  32,929  whites,  778  col- 
ored. Negroes  live  scattered  over  the  town,  some  in  quite  desirable 
places,  with  clean  brick  houses,  with  small  porticos,  others  in  the  side 
streets.  There  are  about  50  property  holders,  some  owning  one,  two, 
three,   four  and  as   high  as  five  houses  in  addition  to   their  homes. 


232  The  Negro  In  Pennsylvania 

Within  the  last  ten  years  it  has  become  very  difficult  for  colored 
people  to  rent  houses  on  the  better  streets;  as  a  result,  they  arc 
forced  to  buy  if  they  would  live  in  the  desirable  parts  of  the  city. 
The  value  of  property  in  York  is  about  $100,000.  There  are  6  barber 
shops,  3  of  which  shave  whites  only;  2  restaurants,  i  caterer,  3  team- 
sters, I  hair  dresser,  2  boarding  houses,  2  dressmakers,  i  inurance 
agent.  Negroe  are  engaged  largely  in  domestic  service  and  unskilled 
labor.  Wages  for  men  run  from  $25  to  $40  per  month,  for  women^ 
$3  to  $3.50  per  week.  The  York  Manufacturing  Company  (iron 
works)  has  about  100  Negroes  employed;  pay  ranged  from  $1.50  to 
$2.50  per  day.  In  some  establishments  Negroes  hold  positions  of 
importance.  The  York  Dental  Supply  Company  has  a  Negro  to 
burn  artificial  teeth;  one  of  the  iron  companies  has  a  Negro  engi- 
neer and  a  Negro  draughtsmen.  There  are  4  churches,  i  A.  M.  E., 
with  90  members;  i  A.  M.  E.  Z.,  with  250  members;  i  Presbyterian, 
40  members,  and  i  Baptist.  There  were  136  Negroes  in  public 
school,  June,  1907,  and  2  in  business  college.  There  were  4  teachers 
and  I  physician.  Negro  children  go  to  a  separate  primary  school. 
Nine  Negroes  have  graduated  from  high  school  in  past  ten  years; 
one  is  a  physician,  another  a  Presbyterian  minister,  another  a  grad- 
uate in  law,  now  in  the  Government  service  in  Chicago;  i  died  while 
studying  medicine;  2  are  teachers,  i  a  barber,  i  in  training  school 
for  teachers  and  2  are  at  home.  There  have  been  Negro  teachers  in 
the  schools  for  a  half  century.  There  has  been  immigration  during 
the  past  ten  years,  chiefly  from  Virginia,  Maryland  and  North  Caro- 
lina, but  this  has  been  very  nearly  balanced  by  emigration  to  Har- 
risburg  and  larger  cities.  The  Negroes  are  optimistic,  and  report 
no  ill-feeling  among  them  and  whites. 


^ 


A  Study  In  Economic  History  233 


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A  Study  In  Economic  History  237 

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238  The  Negro  In  Pennsylvania 


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A  Study  In  Economic  History  239 

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240  The  Ne^ro  In  Fennsylvania 


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HISTORY  OF  BUCKS  COUNTY. 

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A  Study  In  Economic  History  241 


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16 


242  The  Ne^ro  In  Pennsylvania 

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MINUTES  of  the  Second  Convention  of  the  Free  People  of  Color, 
Philadelphia,  1832. 

MINUTES  of  the  Fourth  Convention  of  the  Free  People  of  Color, 

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MINUTES  of  the  Fifth  Convention  of  Free  People  of  Color,  Phila., 

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MINUTES  of  the  Philadelphia  Councils  Committee,  Appointed  Sept. 

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MINUTES  of  the  Proceedings  of  a  Convention  of  Delegates  from 
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of    Slavery   and   Improving  the   Condition   of   the    African    Race. 
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The  same,  the  Eighteenth  Session,  Oct.  7,  1823. 
The  same,  the  Nineteenth  Session,  Oct.  4,  1825. 
The  same,  the  Twentieth  Session,  1828. 

MINUTES  of  the  Convention  of  Pennsylvania,  Which  Commenced 
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MOSSELL,  MRS.  N.  F.— The  Work  of  Afro-American  Women, 
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A  Study  In  Economic  History  243 

MOTT,  A.— Biography  of  Colored  People,  Philadelphia.  (Pam. 
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MURPHY,  E.  G.— The  Present  South,  1904,  McMillan. 

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NEEDLES,  EDW.— Ten  Years'  Progress,  or  a  Comparison  of  the 
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of  1776  and  1812.     Reprinted,  Philadelphia,  1894. 

NELL,  W.  C— The  Colored  Patriots  of  the  American  Revolution, 
etc.     Boston,  1855. 

NICKOLLS,  R.  B.— A  Letter  to  the  Treasurer  of  the  Abolition  So- 
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OBSERVATIONS  ON  ENSLAVING.     Germantown,  1760. 

OBSERVATIONS  ON  ENSLAVING  NEGROES.  Germantown. 
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OLEARY,  MATTHEW— Observations  on  Rush's  Inquiry  into  the 
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PAYNE,  DANIEL  A.— History  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Church,  Nashville, 
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PEARCE,  EDW.  LILLIE— The  Negroes  at  Port  Royal;  Report  to 
S.  B.  Chase,  Secretary  of  Treasury,  Boston,  1862.    36  pp. 

PENN,  I.  G.  AND  J.  W.  E.  BOWEN,  Editors— The  United  Negro, 
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PENNSYLVANIA  COLONIAL  RECORD,  Philadelphia. 


244  The  Negro  In  Pennsylvania 

PENNSYLVANIA  GKNERAL  ASSEMBLY:  Charter  to  William 
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PETERS,  RICHARD— Fugitive  Slave  Case  of  Edward  Prigg  vs. 
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PHILADELPHIA  IN  CARTOON. 

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PHILADELPHIA  NEWSPAPERS— Colored,  The  Christian  Ban^ 
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Magazine  (monthly),  The  A.  M.  E.  Review  (quarterly).  The  Chris- 
tian Recorder. 

PICKARD,  MRS.  KATE  E.  R.— 'Kidnaped  and  Ransomed:  Peter 
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PIERCE,  P.  S.— The  Freedmen's  Bureau,  1904.  State  University  of 
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PLATT,  O.  H. — Negro  Governors.  In  papers  of  the  New  Haven 
Colony  Historical  Society.    Vol.  6.     New  Haven,  1900. 

PROCEEDINGS  OF  CONVENTION  of  Colored  Freedmen  of 
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PROCEEDINGS  of  the  National  Negro  Business  League,  Annually, 
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PROUD,  ROBT.— History  of  Penna.,  1681-1742. 

PURVIS,  ROBT.— Remarks  on  the  Life  and  Character  of  James 
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RATZEL,  F.— History  of  Mankind.     3  vols.,  New  York,  1904. 

RELATION  OF  STATE  to  Colored  Population.  Vol.  11,  1832. 

REPORTS— Bureau  of  Charities;  Bureau  of  Health,  Phila.  Annual 
Reports.    The  Children's  Aid  Society. 

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